


Your love is a secret (I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep)

by Bluejay720



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: 80 percent of this is Josie thirsting after Hope, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Blood Drinking, Eventual Smut, F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Jasie brotp, Laundromat AU, Sexual Tension, Smut, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:53:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26820205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluejay720/pseuds/Bluejay720
Summary: Finally, with a burst of courage, she lifts her shirt over her head and puts it into the machine. Lowering her jeans and putting them in as well.Adding soap to the machine, she drops the lid down, putting her coins in and starting it.For the first time since she stepped into the building, she takes a breath. Her anxiety is still high, but her heart rate is slowing down now that the machine is running.She'll be fine. Who else would be crazy enough to do their laundry at 2 am?As if fate itself was against Josie, the machine continues to run, and the door rings, signaling someone has come.OrJosie is a college student in desperate need of laundry, so at 2 in the morning she goes to a laundromat to do laundry, since it's 2 in the morning, she washes her shirt and pants, leaving her in her underwear. Enter Hope who finds her half naked, and takes an enormous amount of pleasure teasing the other girl.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 232
Kudos: 724





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 'I’m in my underpants in a laundromat waiting for my clothes to get washed and your clothes are in the machine next to mine and I noticed that when you put your clothes in they were all covered in blood what the fuck’ AU This is the prompt I was using for this fic =) 
> 
> Here's the first chapter! I'm excited for you guys to read it! This has been in my drafts for so long

Josie looked around the laundromat one last time. She had done this a hundred times in the past twenty minutes. 

'No ones around, it's two in the morning, no one is going to come in' She tries to rationalize with herself. 

She was in desperate need of clean clothes. Her first semester at college was kicking her ass; homework and tests filled most of her time. On top of that, she had to work a part-time job, which ate into her already busy schedule. 

So here she was trying to do laundry at the nearby laundromat at 2 am hoping no one comes in. 

The clothes she has left are a short and tight skirt that she had outgrown but refuses to get rid of. And a hoodie that was so small it was more along the lines of a crop top on her.

She was wearing jeans that had stains on them from coffee that had spilled down her leg, and a tight blouse that she had struggled to put on this morning.

So laundry right now was a must. A desperate must that would be halfway done by now had she not spent the last twenty minutes debating with herself.

Finally, with a burst of courage, she lifts her shirt over her head and puts it into the machine. Lowering her jeans and putting them in as well. 

Adding soap to the machine, she drops the lid down, putting her coins in and starting it. 

For the first time since she stepped into the building, she takes a breath. Her anxiety is still high, but her heart rate is slowing down now that the machine is running. 

She'll be fine. Who else would be crazy enough to do their laundry at 2 am?

As if fate itself was against Josie, the machine continues to run, and the door rings, signaling someone has come.

Dread fills her entire mind. Buying a little spot in her brain that filters through her whole body, inviting its friend's anxiety and despair over for a visit. 

Josie moves instantly, throwing her arms around her body, attempting to preserve her modesty before she can be found. 

The girl that walks into the building is shorter and has red hair. She is also hella attractive. 

Trying to curve her blush, Josie has her arms wrapped around her stomach in an awkward position in hopes of covering as much skin as possible. 

Cursing herself at being so stupid to lock her only covering in the machine. The other girl walks in and looks up, stopping when she sees the brunette.

Her blush intensifies even more, when the redhead raises an amused eyebrow and smirks. She continues walking closer until she's right next to the machine already in use. 

'Why did she have to use the one right next to mine? There's literally an entire room filled with machines, and she chose that one?'

Josie moves over to another washing machine that sits across from hers and jumps up. She feels slightly better from her lack of coverage sitting down, but not much.

The girl is wearing an oversized button-up shirt with paint splatters all over it, and sweats. Before Josie realizes what the girl is doing, she takes off her shirt and puts it in the wash. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your view, she's wearing a tank top underneath the shirt she just took off.

Josie can't stop the embarrassing squeak that leaves her mouth at the sight of the other girl.

The sound fills the quiet room, echoing off the walls. Any hope that the girl will ignore it is squashed as she turns around, smirk firmly in place. 

"You okay, cutie? I'd have thought you'd be okay with semi-nudity, given your lack of clothing." 

The redhead's eyes flicker up and down her body, making Josie feel beyond self-conscious. 

"Emergency laundry day." Is all Josie can get out. Her cheeks are thoroughly flushed, and she's unable to look away from the gaze the other girl is giving her.

"Hmm, I'm sure. You positive this isn't some exhibition kink you got going on?" She's walking closer to Josie, laundry forgotten.

She can only splutter a nervous laugh that sounds deranged to her ears. "No, I just needed to do laundry." Her heart is racing, and she feels as if the other girl might not believe her.

The girl is right in front of her. If she took a few more steps, she would be standing right between Josie's long legs hanging down from the machine. 

"First, it's a partial nude laundry at two in the morning, then it's naked thrill runs across the mall." 

She doesn't think she can get any redder; the girl is standing too close and not close enough. She's honestly too gay for this. 

"Speaking of laundry, don't you have to start yours?" 

The girl hums in contemplation for a moment before turning back towards the machine.

Feeling as if she can breathe for the first time in the last two minutes, Josie takes in a deep breath and releases it. 

The girl has her back turned towards Josie and begins pouring the rest of her clothes from her bag into the machine. 

Josie, while mostly admiring the girls' muscles, she glances at the clothes the girl puts in the machine. Her blood runs cold for the second time tonight as she sees a red color staining many of the garments. 

It makes Josie stare harder at the clothes than the girl, panic, and anxiety amplifying.

Blood. It's blood on the clothes. Fear makes Josie nearly jump down from the machine and run out of the laundromat.

She didn't want to believe the other girl was a serial killer, but that must be what she was. That's the only explanation of why there's so much blood. 

Josie curses herself for stripping down to her underwear. Unless she wants to run back to her apartment half-naked and leave her clothes here, she has to stay with a potential killer. 

Her mind flashes back to all the safety lectures her dad gave her and Lizzie before they went to college, how she had rolled her eyes and assured her father they would be fine.

She was supposed to be the smart one—the one who could care for others before herself.

Lizzie was going to kill her if she died. 

The girl was so much shorter than she was, how was she able to kill anyone?!

She thought for a moment of what she could do to get out of this. There was no magic anywhere that she could siphon from. Once the idea enters her mind, Josie begins to wonder if the other girl was a supernatural, it would explain the blood. But it would also mean that she was even more of a danger to a magicless Josie. 

She's brought out of her musings and panicked thoughts by the loud clang of metal. While she had been preoccupied, the girl had finished putting her blood-stained items into the machine along with soap. Now, with the laundry started, there's nothing to distract the girl from giving all her attention to Josie. She swivels around to look at Josie, and the brunette doesn't have enough time to even pretend that she hadn't been staring.

Her eyes widen at being caught openly ogling the girl in front of her.

'That smirk is so sexy. How can I be in the presence of a potential killer and still be turned on?' 

"You enjoying the view, love? I know I am." 

Josie had put her hands down from her body when she had sat down. Now the redhead was openly looking at her body up and down.

The blush darkens her face even more at that, and she throws her arms around her stomach.

Rather than stopping her staring, the girl's smirk seems to deepen. Josie looks down to where the girl is ogling her and sees her arms pushing her breasts up.

There's a pout forming on her lips as she wraps one arm over her bra and the other across her stomach.

Remembering the blood again, Josie looks around the room for anything that she could potentially use to defend herself, just in case. The only thing she has on her is her phone and an empty bag to hold her laundry. Both of which are stranded on the washing machine across from her. 

'How did I get myself into this situation?' 

Josie glances back at the girl to see her staring at her with a contemplative look on her face, but still watching her nonetheless. It looked almost predatory.

'Probably thinking if I'll be a good victim.' 

Every crime show she's ever seen flashed through her mind; she can see the headline now. 'College student found dead outside of a laundry mat.' If she doesn't take me to her lair. Don't all evil villains have a lair where they keep their victims? 

She tries to push that thought off of her mind, but her heart continues to beat faster and faster as a small shudder runs down her spine. 

"Are you nervous?" 

Josie almost jumps at the sudden question. She hadn't been expecting the girl to openly talk to her. 

"No." She swallows hard, which does not help her lie.

The infuriating smirk seems to stay on the girl's face as she takes a few steps closer. She's much closer now that if Josie leaned forward, she could probably touch her. 

"You're really not helping your case, love." 

There's a bit of an accent in her voice, which given the circumstances, Josie shouldn't find irresistibly hot. But also makes her mind get some sort of jack the ripper vibes.

"Well, maybe if I wasn't half-naked with a potential killer, I wouldn't be as nervous." 

Her eyes widen as her mouth drops open, gaping at what she had just said.

'If she didn't know if she wanted to kill me, she does now.'

She doesn't expect the laugh that leaves the girl's mouth. A genuinely joyful sound that doesn't help Josie's fluttering heart. 

"And why am I a potential killer, darling?" 

The girl steps forward, almost standing between Josie's legs. She wants to close them as she can feel herself start to get wet at how powerful the girl feels. 

"I saw blood on your clothes. A lot of it. Are you going to kill me?" 

'Good question, genius. As if a murderer would tell you if they're going to murder you.'

"That would ruin all the fun. And I'm not going to kill you. The blood was there from an animal, a deer, to be exact. I'm a hunter." The girl's mouth quirks up as if she said something hilarious. 

Josie's lips turn into a frown, not believing the words. "On all the clothes? There was so much."

"The deer had been hurt by another hunter who had shot it enough to wound it. It must have run off, and whoever shot it didn't bother to go find it, leaving it for dead. I put it out of its misery. I also put it in the back of my truck. My clothes were laid down, so it didn't get blood everywhere."

The tension visibly left Josie's shoulders. "Then you're not a murderer?" So she wants verbal confirmation that she hopefully won't die tonight, sue her.

"I didn't say that, darling." Her eyes widen again, and she can feel her heart pick up speed once again.

She continues before Josie can say anything. "But don't worry, you're too cute to kill." 

"That doesn't reassure me."

The gleam in the redhead's eyes does nothing to reassure her, either. Mischief dancing, and like a moth drawn to a flame, Josie knows she'll get burned. She did always have a thing for fire.

There's another moment of silence where the girl observes Josie. She steps forward slowly, as if not to scare the brunette.

Her heart speeds up, regardless. She can feel it pounding in her chest. 

"Oh baby, is there anything I can do to reassure you?"

The redhead is now between her legs. Josie has to stop herself from thinking about the girl in front of her lowering herself and taking Josie right there. She turns her head up, eyes squeezing shut at the thought. 

Her body jumps as a hand rests against her exposed thigh. It feels as if an electric current runs through her entire body; a gasp leaves her mouth without thought. 

The girl feels powerful and filled to the brim with magic. Josie had thought the electric current in the air before had just been her own nerves. Now she can feel the energy and magic coursing through the redhead. 

Josie watches as the girl closes her eyes almost as if she's reveling in the sound Josie made.

Another squeak leaves her mouth when she feels a second hand placed high on her upper thigh. "Nope. No. I think I'm good." Her voice is too strained and high pitched. Her eyes are now squeezed shut, and her head is pointed to the ceiling, avoiding the other girl's stare at all costs. 

Another chuckle leaves the other girl, and the warmth moves away from her thigh. She keeps her eyes squeezed tight as she feels the presence of the girl drift. She opens her eyes, a small frown falls to her lips at the girl moving away. The feeling of power also leaves her skin, the mere touch of it enough to make her feel invincible. Now that she knows the other girl is magic, Josie can sense it easier, feels it in the air. 

'I should be happy, not sad that a random stranger stopped invading my personal space.'

Her heart slows slightly at the distance the other girl makes; she jumps up on the machine that's not in use across from her and openly stares at Josie.

Her heartbeat picks up speed once again. Her arms, which are still wrapped firmly around her body, tighten their hold. 

She doesn't trust the stranger and is feeling beyond self-conscious at the ogling being done. As if she's a tasty snack that the other girl wants to devour. She wonders if the girl is a vampire. 

She just has to stay like this for the rest of the night, no problem, only arms wrapped awkwardly and uncomfortable around her. This will be fine.

"You know, cutie, I think it might be a little late to preserve your modesty."

Her eyes snap to the girl across from her for a split second before Josie turns and looks away. She frowns at the statement before the girl continues.

"You're going to have to get up at some point to change over your laundry." 

Flushing at the realization, she would have to get up, and the girl was going to see her entire body. Fuck. 

She slowly lowers her arms from the criss-cross position they had been over her front, relaxing slightly. 

Unfortunately, the mysterious stranger was right; she had lost all attempts at preserving modesty when she took off her clothes and put them in the washer. 

The stranger looks delighted at the action and doesn't stop staring at her. Josie usually hated it when anyone looked at her too hard or too long; she wanted to avoid most attention that was given to her. This felt different. The girl made her enjoy being watched, enjoy the gaze; she felt entirely seen.

She swallowed and regarded the other girl carefully before her mouth asked the first question on her mind. 

"So, what brings you here in the middle of the night?" 

'What the hell was that? What is she doing here? Laundry obviously, dumbass.' She almost rolls her eyes at herself but refrains.

The girl stares at her for a moment before raising a perfect eyebrow. "I was hoping to see a cute girl half-naked and waiting for me. Happens more often than you'd think." 

The redhead eyes her up and down once more, bringing her blush back full force. She looks away to not make eye contact feeling self-conscious under the other's gaze. 

'Why did her blush response have to be so strong? If she didn't know any better, she'd think the other girl was trying to get a reaction from her."

"Nevermind." 

They stay in silence for a few minutes. Josie looks anywhere but at the other girl, and the other girl doesn't take her eyes off Josie. 

The only sounds that fill the air are the machines that are currently washing their clothes. Josie wishes she had brought her phone over so she could have something to do, but there was no way she was going to get up and grab it, which in turn would show off more of her body. 

So she fills the time by staring at the rows and rows of machines and trying to not glance at the redhead. 

Fuck, she should not be turned on from this.

At the thought, she shifts her legs, so they are crossed together, slightly afraid her underwear would show a wet spot—the girl who she still did not know the name of stares further at her legs.

The silence was becoming too much for Josie. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. As a child, she never enjoyed the quiet, always trying to fill it with singing or humming. She doesn't think the other girl would appreciate her renditions of songs if she started to sing them, so that left talking to fill the void. 

"I'm Josie, by the way." 

The redhead regards her carefully before answering.

"Hope." Is all she says in lieu a response. 

Josie accepts it and is quiet for another moment. 

"Are you a student at the university?" 

Hope looks at her carefully and watches the brunette. "No, I'm not, I'm assuming you are a student?" 

Josie nods and smiles, glad that the girl is speaking to her. Even if she thought she was a killer not ten minutes prior, she's delighted to see that she can hold a conversation with the pretty stranger. 

"Yep. I'm a student. I live off-campus with my sister and best friend." 

She cringes at her statement, still wary of Hope. 'Good going genius. Why don't you tell a potential killer your address while you're at it. Maybe you can draw her a map.

Hope hums in acknowledgment but continues looking at the brunette. "Sister?" Josie's surprised at the question. The girl, Hope, seemed to not want to talk very much given her closed expression, or at least whatever look she was giving Josie right now seemed as if she wanted to eat her rather than answer questions. 

"She's my twin." Josie would usually tell more, but she also feels that supplying more information may not be the best. Luckily her heart rate and blush have died down since they started talking.

"Wow, there's two of you, is she as attractive as you?" There's a suggestive lilt to her voice. 

She's definitely not expecting Hope's question as a deranged laugh leaves her throat. Her blush is back once again as she tries to calm herself. 

"She's definitely more attractive than me. We're fraternal, so she's also my opposite in just about everything. Blonde hair, super peppy." 

Hope observes her. "I find it hard to believe anyone could be more attractive than you." Josie opens her mouth to reply, but the words die in her throat. Hope said that way too sincerely for someone they had just met twenty minutes prior. 

Gosh, twenty minutes, it felt like a lifetime ago. Josie doesn't know how she will get through changing over her clothes and waiting for them to dry. The air feels impossibly thick. 

"Oh, well, trust me, she is. Most people go after her." 

Hope narrows her eyes and jumps down from the machine. Her sudden movement makes Josie's heart rate pick up, still wary. 

She begins to start talking in a low and sexy drawl as she walks closer.

"I'm sure she's great. but she doesn't sound like my type." She's almost to Josie now, going far too slowly. It feels as if Hope is waiting for her to do something. 

Swallowing hard, Josie asks the question that was on the tip of her tongue. "What is your type?"

That infuriating, sexy smirk is present once more as Hope pushes past the distance and stands between Josie's legs. 

Josie has to fight a whimper that wants to leave her throat as her core presses against a hard stomach. Her legs spread easily for the other girl. 

Hope doesn't stop moving but places her hands on Josie's hips, branding her before leaning up and getting closer to Josie's ear. "Brunette hair. Partially naked. Full, pouty lips that look ravishing." 

Hope doesn't stop there but places a small kiss to Josie's jaw, more a press of her lips as she talks, but it sets Josie aflame. 

She can feel the want so deep inside that she can barely control her eyes from fluttering shut and tilting her head to the side, giving more access to the other girl. She also doesn't notice that she's siphoning from Hope until her body is filled with magic.

The amount of energy and pure power that enters her body forces a gasp from her mouth, mixed with Hope pressing her lips harder to Josie's neck. 

She can only squeeze her eyes tight and reaches out to grip Hope as well, her hands splayed on the other girls back. 

Another gentle kiss is placed on her neck, closer to her pulse. Josie can feel how fast her heartbeat is and hears the blood rushing through her ears. 

The thought of blood makes her hesitate and open her eyes.

'Is Hope a vampire?!' The thought terrifies her and makes her wonder if she is about to have her blood drained from her body. Nothing is stopping Hope from sinking her fangs deep into Josie's skin and drinking from her if she is a vampire. 

A tongue darts out from Hope and licks a small strip on her neck, causing Josie to release a loud moan that she had been desperately trying to keep inside. 

'What the hell. Even with her possibly being a vampire turns me on. Get it together, Josie.'

One of Hope's hands snakes up to her hair and gently tugs. It causes a chain reaction of a whimper leaving Josie's mouth and her body grinding into Hope, her nails raking down Hope's back. 

The girl on her neck releases a sound similar to a growl, causing Josie to grind once more against Hope. 

With the magic coursing through her body and with how turned on she is, it makes sense what happens when Hope bites down on her neck.

Josie's eyes shoot open, and her lips are saying, "Ignalusa," before she realizes what's happening. A blast of fire hits Hope in the stomach, sending her flying back to the floor, away from Josie. 

She doesn't move for a second, shocked at what just occurred, before bursting into action and falling down to where Hope is.

"I'm so sorry! gosh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?!" Hope only groans in pain, she seems slightly dazed, and Josie takes that as a sign to help.

She quickly lifts Hope's tank top, which is basically ruined. A giant hole from where the fire hit destroyed the middle of the fabric. 

A healing spell is on her lips, her body thrumming with magic from how much she siphoned from the girl lying down. She keeps her hands splayed over Hope's stomach as the spell takes place.

The burns are only minor, thankfully, and as Josie looks closer, the wound is rapidly healing, a mix of the spell and Hope healing herself. 

"What are you?" The question falls from her lips, unbiddenly. Hope groans and moves a hand behind her head to support her neck. 

"I could ask you the same thing, sweetie." 

Josie flushes at the pet name and doesn't stop moving her hands across Hope's stomach. The burns are almost gone completely, fading away to show the hardened muscle of Hope's abs.

'Why did she have to have abs?'

Josie opens her mouth to reply but closes it soon after. She's never had to tell someone else what she is. The boarding school, her dad, runs is the one she went to her entire life. 

She never had to explain to someone else or be around people that haven't already known. Luckily Hope saves her from answering.

"Are you a witch?" 

Josie nods her head, her hands moving unconsciously around Hope's stomach, though the wound is healed. 

"I'm a Siphoner. I'm so sorry, I usually have control over any magic I get, but honestly, the amount of power you hold is… overwhelming." 

Hope stays quiet, taking in the information. She doesn't stay quiet for long before she closes her eyes, and a low moan is released from her mouth. Josie can feel herself darken at the sound. 

"Your hands are magic." She opens her eyes and looks up at the brunette, a dopey grin on her face. It's enough that Josie feels a laugh bubble up in her throat. She sits down rather than kneeling but keeps her hands on the other girl, raking her nails down hardened abs. 

A quiet moment passes between the two as the laughter dies out. Josie is about to ask what Hope is, in a supernatural sense, but jumps at the buzzer's loud sound. The machine signaling that her clothes are done. Hope chuckles under her breath as she watches Josie get up and head to change her clothes. 

It seems in all the excitement in the last few minutes, Josie forgets that she is only in her underwear, and Hope is not going to be the one to remind the other girl how much is actually visible. Josie has to reach down to get the last few pairs of clothes at the bottom of the washing machine, showing off long legs that go on forever. So Hope lays there quietly and watches Josie put her clothes into the dryer and starts putting coins in

Hope is perfectly content staying on the floor where she's at watching the girl move. She jumps again when Hope's machine goes off. The redhead groans at having to get up.

"I really am sorry, by the way." Josie moves closer to Hope, who is now standing once more. "Don't worry about it. I'm all good." As she speaks, she's taking off her now ruined tank top and throwing it away. She smirks at the little squeak Josie lets out at seeing her in nothing but a sports bra. 

Hope swivels back around and stalks closer to Josie. "What's wrong, love? You seem pretty comfortable with a lack of clothes." 

Josie swallows hard but sees the teasing smirk and edge to Hope's voice. In a sugary sweet voice, she says, "Careful, Hope, otherwise I might have to send another fireball towards you. Wouldn't want you to get burned again." 

Hope is within arm's length from her now, "Maybe I want to play with fire. I never did care if I got burned." Their gaze is intense as they watch each other. Josie breaks eye contact first by looking away and taking a step back. "Don't forget your laundry, Hope." 

She steps back and goes to jump up again on the washing machine she had used prior. Hope watching her as she does. The other girl then began to move, putting her clothes into the dryer.

Josie's unable to look away at seeing the full extent of Hope's back muscles. 'Fuck. Why is she so hot? 

Once Hope finishes, she walks back over to where Josie is, sitting right next to her. Josie can feel the power of Hope and the magic within touching distance. 

Her fingers itch to lay her hands on Hope, to take power. She shudders at the idea and places her hands under her thighs, keeping herself from unconsciously reaching out. 

"So, cutie, besides being half-naked and blasting strangers with fire, what else do you like doing?" 

Josie feels startled at the question and doesn't have an answer right away. "Oh, I work at this coffee shop near campus, it's actually really nice there. My best friend works there, as well." 

She turns her head to look at Hope and finds the redhead already looking at her. They stare at each other for another few seconds, with Hope so close, Josie's already frayed self-control couldn't fight the urge. 

She remembers how close Hope was to her before she blasted her with fire. Suddenly a thought comes rearing in her head about why she attacked her with fire. 

"Wait, did you bite me?!" 

Hope freezes at the question, her entire body tenses. This is the first time Josie has seen her look remotely uncomfortable; this whole night Hope has been this mix of sexy smooth, now she seemed awkward and uneasy. 

She clears her throat and tries to joke. "You weren't complaining." 

Josie rolls her eyes and smacks Hope's arm gently. "Ya, that's why I blasted you with fire." Hope doesn't look up but keeps her gaze pointed at the ground; Josie doesn't like how deep in thought she seems. "You never did tell me what you were..." she trails off, her curiosity winning out in the end. 

Hope is once again silent, and Josie has a distinct feeling that she might have overstepped. "I'm sorry you don't have to tell me. I understand." She places her hand on top of Hope's and squeezes once then twice. Just like the first time they touched, Josie felt a sharp pull of power and sparks just below her fingertips. 

As she's about to pull her hand away, but Hope reaches her hand and places it on top of Josie's. 

"I'm a wolf." 

Hope doesn't meet the brunette's gaze. Josie has a distinct feeling that's not the full truth but doesn't argue. 

"That's cool, do you have a pack?" 

Hope looks up at Josie and gives her a tense smile. "Not exactly." 

She doesn't give any more information than that, so Josie doesn't push. They stay close together, with their hands touching, the only sounds in the room are the machines' quiet hums. 

"I'm sorry again for lighting you on fire, I thought you were going to eat me." Josie breaks the silence. She hadn't really thought about how her words sounded before she said them. 

Hope's lips turn up into a smirk as she watches Josie blush. "Well, I definitely was getting there, but someone thought that fire was a good use for foreplay." 

Josie darkens further, probably the thousandth time that night. "I was not using fire as foreplay!" She pulls her hand away from Hope and crosses her arms. 

The redhead wears that infuriating smirk that Josie is growing to hate (love). "Oh? What do you use for foreplay then?" 

She can only glare further and sets her hand on Hope's, the magic she had siphoned still runs through her system and is itching to be used. She sends a small jolt of electricity to shock Hope and laughs loudly as the girl jumps, not expecting it. 

The wolf watches the laughing girl as her eyes narrow. She moves off the machine, and Josie seems to notice this too late, giving her no time to run as Hope quickly lifts her up off the washing machine and into the air. 

"Hope!" Josie squeals as Hope turns her around in circles, keeping her body off the ground. 

The past hour has felt surreal; she feels as if she knows Hope and has been friends with the girl for years, even if she had just met her. Lizzie always did say she trusted too quickly, but Hope didn't seem bad, or like she wanted to hurt her. She had plenty of opportunities if she had wanted to.

After a few seconds of spinning, Hope sets her down upon Josie's pleading that she was sorry. As Hope sets her back down onto the washing machine, she stands between Josie's leg once again. 

The siphoner had been laughing so hard that she was panting now. Hope didn't even look out of breath. There's a moment when their eyes meet that Josie stops laughing as her smile droops down to a more serious expression. 

Hope is looking at her with full deep blue eyes, and she feels an inevitable pull towards the girl. Those eyes stare at her with the same intensity.

Josie swallows hard when she sees Hope's eyes dart down to her lips and back up to meet her gaze. 'Are they about to kiss?'

Hope begins the slow movement forward and is getting closer to her before the buzzer's sound goes off, signaling Josie's clothes are done. 

A wave of disappointment runs through her as they both bolt away at the sound. Hope steps back a half step, not enough for Josie to get down, and sweeps her eyes over her half-covered form. 

"Well, cutie, you sure are gorgeous." Josie can feel herself flush once more, the redness that had never left only intensifying.

"Stop it. You're doing that on purpose." Josie looks away, not able to look the other girl in the eyes. 

"Doing what love? I'm only admiring my amazing view. Now since your clothes are done, I'm sure you'll cover that beautiful body of yours." The redhead's eyes trail across her body once more. 

Josie knows she's being teased, but she can't stop the swirl of emotions at how low the other girl's voice is and the words she says.

She finally gets up and walks toward her clothes. They're warm to the touch when she pulls out a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt, putting both on quickly. 

The warmth hugs her body and lingers, she hadn't been cold, but she hadn't been warm either, except when the other girl was teasing her. Once dressed, she looks back to Hope and shouldn't be surprised at the eyes she finds watching intensely. 

She puts the rest of her clothes in the bag and grabs her cell phone. Josie has no reason to stay and wait for Hope's clothes to be done, even if they are almost finished. She bites her lip, unsure of what to do now. She has nothing to stay for, and it's not like she can ask this random stranger for her number...

She doesn't distrust Hope, quite on the contrary, but she was still a stranger, one she had met that night. Even if the girl made her feel things that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"I guess I'm going to head out." Josie breaks the silence and their staring contest. 

Hope nods her head, and Josie isn't sure whether to be disappointed when the other girl doesn't say anything else. She begins walking towards the door, eyes following her as they had all night.

She's at the door, and with one last look behind her, brown meets blue. Nothing else is said as Josie walks through the door and begins to leave, the sound of a buzzer going off the only thing she hears as she makes her way towards her apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait with this one, I hope the long chapter makes up for it
> 
> The next chapter will probably take a hot minute to get out, 
> 
> I Hope you guys stay safe and keep your heads up high for anything going on 💙 
> 
> Oh, ps both Hope and Josie are over 18 in this fic 😉 some scenes do get heated now and later

She feels arms wrap around her, pulling her back against a hard body. She releases a gasp as a pair of lips touch her neck. 

"Hey, love, did you miss me?" Those lips continue their path, touching her, and setting her skin ablaze with warmth. 

She opens her mouth to speak, to say anything but is stopped by a moan leaving her lips when the girl behind her bites down. 

"Fuck, Hope. Please." Another whimper leaves her throat as one of the girl's hands resting on her stomach makes a slow descent down to where Josie needs her most. 

Those lips on her neck are incessantly placing kisses anywhere they could reach, pressing harder and harder. 

The stimulus was intoxicating, as was being in the arms of the girl she couldn't get out of her head. 

Hope takes her sweet time touching Josie, her hand just now touching the line of her shorts and slowly moving past the elastic. 

"What do you need, Jo?" 

She opens her mouth to plead; she was not above begging with how wet she was. As soon as she speaks, Hope's teeth are scraping along her neck gently, cutting off all lines of thinking. 

"Hope," her voice sounds so needy. 

The redhead chuckles quietly behind her and tightens her hold on Josie's body. 

"Come on, Jo, you have to tell me what you want." 

A whimper leaves her mouth, followed by a moan as Hope's fingers now touch her through the thin fabric of her panties, just over her clit. She gives a needy whine.

"Hope, touch me, please. Touch me." 

The wolf hums as if barely considering her request and makes slow and gentle circles over her clit. She was going to go insane.

A loud moan leaves her mouth once more when Hope presses down harder and bites her neck at the same time. 

"Hope..." 

Finally, Hope seems to listen as her hand moves even lower and begins to move Josie's underwear out of the way. 

Her eyes tighten closed as what she waited for is finally going to happen. 

But nothing else comes because she wakes up gasping and panting in her bed alone. 

_ Alone _ .

Her heartbeat had been racing faster and is forced to slow down. 

'Fuck. I can't get my mind off of her.' 

It has barely even been a week since she had seen the mystery girl...Since she had seen Hope. But she's been the only thing on Josie's mind. 

The tall brunette can't help but replay her entire night with the girl, blushing profusely as she does. 

There was something about her, something about Hope that kept her in Josie's thoughts.

She was losing her mind.

Every waking thought had been consumed by the wolf, and now it appeared every unconscious thought was too. This was far from the first dream she had had about the sexy redhead.

Josie shifts in bed and looks around; her room is dark with a few rays of light shining through from the window, covering her room in a soft haze. 

She still has hours before she needs to get up for classes. She sighs once more before laying back against her bed.

She hates how a girl she met for not even two hours has already infiltrated so much of her life. She also can't believe how sexually frustrated she is. 

A voice comes to her mind, one that sounds suspiciously like Lizzie. 

_ 'You need to get laid.' _

Groaning once and then twice, she sits up and gets her clothes ready for a shower. A cold shower. Because today has been a long day, and it hasn't even started yet.

Her shower is nice and ice-cold, causing her to shiver when she steps out. Maybe she shouldn't have taken an ice bath practically. 

She had hoped it would keep her mind off Hope (no pun intended) but had no such luck. The other girl wouldn't get out of her head, from dreams to fantasies to daydreams, it didn't matter. Hope was always on her mind.

She's just about finished and dressed for the day when she looks over at her pile of laundry. It wasn't nearly as full as last time, having skipped for over two weeks. Now, she has the urge to go to the laundromat and do her small pile of clothes. 

Normally, she would have been able to do laundry at her apartment complex, but since the machines have been down for the past couple of weeks, she hasn't been able to. 

A small thrill runs through her at the mere possibility of seeing the girl that has been continuously on her mind. 

She has absolutely no idea if the other girl would be there, but she holds onto that little thought of hope. 

Josie shakes her head and exits her room; even when she's actively trying not to think about the girl, she's on her mind. 

She hears a noise coming from the kitchen area as she steps into the room. Jade, her roommate, and best friend stood in the kitchen, cooking something on the stove. 

"Hey, babe, how'd you sleep last night, have some good dreams?" 

Josie freezes; she can feel her heart beat faster at the question. 

"Ya, I slept fine last night, why?" She tries not to look at the other girl, but she knows she's in trouble once they meet her eyes. 

"They must have been really sweet since you were moaning all night." 

Josie blushes red and can't do anything but splutter. "I don't know what you're talking about." Josie turns away and tries to look busy with her coffee, anything to look away from the grin Jade is wearing. 

"Oh, Hope, please, touch me." Jade twists her voice into a higher pitch and mockingly moans loudly. 

Josie can feel her cheeks redden at Jade's pornographic moans that she's releasing. 

She whips her head back over as she smacks Jade on the arm continuously. "Jade!" She tries to scold, but the other girl only laughs. 

"That's not the name you were moaning last night!" 

A loud groan leaves her mouth as she buries her face into her hands. Regret sits heavily on her mind at having told Jade about her midnight excursion a week ago. 

"Aww, come on, Jo's, you know I love you." Josie doesn't reply as Jade wraps her arms around Josie's middle and hugs her from behind. She rests her chin on her shoulder and doesn't let go. 

"Jo, come on, I want to see those pretty eyes." 

Josie shakes her head and continues to leave her face buried. She's still red and has a distinct need to run away and hide for a long time, so she doesn't have to face the reality of Jade, knowing she had a sex dream. 

"Come on, babe, it's completely normal! And sounds like you had a good time; you don't have to be embarrassed!" 

Josie shakes her head again and feels Jade's arms wrap tighter around her. 

There was a time when she had a crush on the older girl, and her thirteen-year-old self would have died to have Jade like this. Throughout the years, though, Jade has become an amazing friend. 

They had tried to date before but quickly found out they were better off as friends. The few awkward kisses they shared did nothing for either of them. 

She groans again and feels herself lifted up off the ground, being spun in the air. She squeals loudly as a laugh leaves her throat. It reminds her all too much of when Hope had picked her up. 

_ 'Damn it. So much for trying not to think about her.'  _

"Jade! Put me down!" 

"Come on, Jo's, say please!" 

"Please, Jade! Put me down!" 

She tries to sound annoyed but can't help the smile that's on her face. Jade places her gently to her feet and steps away, wearing a dopey grin. 

She smacks Jade's arm playfully once again and tries to pout, her already pouty lips pushed out in a way that makes her feel like a child. 

Jade laughs loudly as she watches Josie's expression, "Aw babe, don't be mad at me. You know I'm only playing." 

Josie rolls her eyes and pulls her grinning friend into a hug. "You're an ass; that's what you are." She shouldn't have said anything because Jade's hands go directly to her ass and squeeze, causing her to squeal once more. 

"You jerk!" Josie says as Jade laughs but does release her from her hold. 

They settle down at the table, Jade with her food and cup of blood, and Josie with her cup of coffee. The only substance that's keeping her going. 

"Where's Lizzie?" Josie glances towards where the blonde's room is and wonders if she's still asleep.

"I'm pretty sure she had an early class, but I'm not sure." Jade shrugs before talking again.

"So, what's on the plan today?" She takes a gulp of her blood, and Josie has to look away. It still is a little uneasy for her to watch Jade drink, even if they've been friends for years. 

"Classes and homework probably, nothing much after that. I don't work today." Josie shrugs and takes another drink of the sweet ambrosia that warms her stomach. 

_ 'I wonder if Hope likes coffee…'  _

She shakes her head at the thought, focusing on Jade. She shouldn't have taken her eyes off the vampire as her lips have curled into a smirk. 

"Are you sure you don't have any more plans, Jo's? Maybe a late-night laundry excursion?" 

Josie drinks another sip of coffee, making sure the cup is lifted above her face so Jade can't see her face. The blush she's wearing almost certain to give her away.

"Maybe I am. Who's to say?" She tries to go for coy, but the second Jade actually looks at her, she knows she's caught.

"I knew it! Do you know if she's going to be there? If she is, try not having sex on the machines, I don't think that's very sanitary." She finishes with a wink, causing Josie to blush further. 

"Stop it, you jerk. I'm just going because I need to do the laundry and not nearly run out like last time. It doesn't matter if I see her or not." 

The voice in the back of her mind calls her a liar; Jade seems to pick up on that as well. 

"Sure, Jo, we'll go with that. Why else would you go do laundry at 2 in the morning unless seeing a hot and sexy wolf. Hmm, if things go well, bring her back here; maybe we could do a threesome." Jade winks again as she puts her dishes away 

Josie rolls her eyes, all too aware of how flirty Jade can actually be. "As I said, I probably won't even see her. I'm not going for her, so it doesn't matter." She takes a final last gulp of her coffee before putting it in the sink. 

"Whatever you say, sweetie. Stay safe though ya? Call me if you need me, and I'll be there in a second." She leans over and kisses Josie on the cheek, and then vamps speed away out the door.

Josie watches the space her best friend was just at. It always amazes her at how fast a vampire could actually go.

Jade enjoyed showing off way too much, knowing it impressed the brunette.

Josie sighs while sitting down again, wondering if she has the energy to try and make some form of food. 

She really didn't care enough to try making anything and decide to get up and maybe start on her homework due later in the week. 

-

Josie's day goes by far too slowly, classes go by slow, homework goes by even slower. And she couldn't figure out why. 

It wasn't like she was doing anything different that day as all the other days. She didn't have work thankfully, she was almost positive that it would have gone painfully slow if she had. 

Finally, night comes, and she stands in front of the run-down laundromat that she had been at a week prior, a small bag of clothes in her hand.

She walks in and looks around, seeing no one in the lit-up room, only rows and rows of empty machines. 

She chooses the one she had used the week prior, one of the farthest ones from the door. 

Josie stands at the machine and looks at the door. She can feel herself almost willing for it to ring and for a certain someone to come in. 

Disappointment sits heavily in her stomach at Hope, not being here. She felt like the last time Hope came here might have been a fluke of some sort rather than a regular occurrence. 

She puts her clothes in the machine and looks towards the door again before starting it. 

Her cheeks heat up as she remembered the last time she had washed her clothes. Specifically the lack of clothes she had on, and Hope seeing her.

The redhead seemed to enjoy teasing her at every chance she had gotten; Josie wouldn't mind a little payback of some sort. 

She sighs for what feels like the hundredth time in the last five minutes, hearing the water rushing through to clean her clothes. She glances at the door, and the small amount of hope that sat in her heart was starting to lessen until it was shriveled up. 

She doubts that Hope barely even remembers her; the girl had been so sexy and mysterious. It made Josie yearn for more. 

However, she knows she's not the most exciting person either. There have always been prettier girls who are better at conversation, have more confidence. She wouldn't be surprised if Hope lost interest in her and hadn't even thought about her this past week. 

It hurts that she won't see Hope again because the other girl made her feel special… as if she was a first choice rather than the usual second choice. 

She stares off into space with her thoughts, playing a game on her phone to pass the time. Candy crush was her go-to when she needed to mindlessly do something. 

She continued smashing the candy, the bright colors mixing on her phone screen. Her focus isn't entirely on her game, so she loses the round. Her gaze shifts up once again towards the door, the thousandth time she's done that. 

She only half-heartedly looks now, disappointment sat heavily in her stomach, and almost all hope had been lost inside her. A small piece of hope stuck with her and refused to leave. 

Josie knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up in the first place and should have known that she'd never see Hope again. Soon that night from a week ago will be nothing but a faded memory. One that she won't be sure she dreamed or not. 

She sighs into the empty room and puts her phone away. 

_ 'Fuck. Maybe if I strip half-naked again, she'd be here.'  _

She's only half tempted by the idea and thinks it through for a few seconds longer than she should.

She shakes her head at the thought and looks back to check how much time she had left until she needed to switch over her clothes. A little less than five minutes left. 

She decides to get off the machine she was sitting on and drop down to the floor. She felt far too restless to stay sitting, and she was going to have to get up in a few minutes anyway. 

She stretches out her arms above her head, enjoying the stretch of her joints as a few crackles and pops can be heard. 

Her heart almost stops when the door opens; her head whips up at the sound of the ringing bell that hung overhead. 

"Wow, look at you cutie, wearing clothes and everything."

The one person she had wanted to see is standing there in sweats and a tank top looking as attractive as ever. Exactly how Josie remembered her.

"You came back!" Josie smiles wide and can't keep the excitement out of her voice. 

Hope chuckles at the obvious excitement and steps forward, "of course I did. I couldn't miss the opportunity of seeing a pretty girl half-naked again." The redhead's eyes sweep over Josie's clothed form. 

"But, I see you're tragically wearing clothes this time." 

Josie can feel the red rose on her cheeks and can't help but look away from the other girl's intense stare. 

_ 'Fuck. Two seconds into seeing her again, and she's already making me blush.'  _

"Stop it. You're teasing me on purpose." Josie puts a little bit of extra pout to her lips, her bottom lip jutting out. It's her signature move to get what she wants. Lizzie did always tell her she had a resting pouty face. 

Hope walks closer to her, a smirk already in place. "Aww, baby, you love it, though." 

Those words leaving Hope's mouth cause Josie to burn. She can't even deny it cause fuck, she really does love Hope teasing her. The redhead was like a drug, and Josie was an addict, needing another hit.

Josie does step back and rolls her eyes, arms crossed, attempting to put up some facade that she didn't enjoy it. She's pretty sure by the smirk on Hope's lips that she didn't succeed.

The redhead puts her clothes in the machine right next to Josie's. Just as she had done before, the week prior.

The brunette can't help but watch closely as Hope pours her clothes in, observing any more blood that may stain the garments. 

To her relief, she found none.

"That blood from before was from a deer… right?" She never did get the confirmation she wanted, not exactly at least. Hope hadn't known she was a supernatural when answering. Josie just hoped it hadn't been human blood.

Hope only chuckles a dark and beautiful sound. Her grin turns into a smirk.

"Why, cutie? Afraid I'll turn you into a snack?" 

Josie can feel the heat touch her cheeks but feels like playing the game. "Not particularly. I think we both know I can handle myself." She gives a coy smile back, remembering the fire she sent Hope's way. 

The other girl seems delighted at Josie's response, but both girls are distracted by the sound of Josie's machine going off. Josie jumps high in the air, while Hope appears unphased by the noise. She does chuckle at Josie being startled, but tries to hide it with a cough.

Josie's lip comes out in another pout at having only the amount of time her clothes finish drying left with Hope. She had expected the other girl to not come at all, and when she did, their time together was cut in half. 

She wordlessly moves to put her clothes into the dryer, moving them carefully while knowing she's being watched. 

She had waited far too long for those beautiful blue eyes to appear on her. She felt Hope's gaze on her and enjoyed the feeling of being watched. 

"Well, cutie, how have you been since I last saw you? did you think about me throughout the week?" 

The question instantly makes Josie's heart skip a beat. 

_ 'You were the only thing I could think about.' _

She swallows hard and averts her eyes, trying to appear as if nothing was wrong but ultimately failing. She finishes putting her clothes in the dryer, but she's forced to face Hope once that is completed.

With nothing to distract herself, she tries to move to sit down on the machine she had used before, Hope watching her with interest. 

She could feel the blood rise to her cheeks, and her heart rate increase as Hope's eyes watched her. She wished Hope wasn't a wolf with super hearing, able to hear how fast her heart was racing, and easily catch her in a lie. 

Wolf hearing may not have been as strong as vampire hearing, but it was still easily better than Josie's mere witch hearing… which was no different than a human. 

Stupid supernatural world. Sure, she could shoot fire from her palms, but could she run faster than a Jaguar? No, she could not. Okay, now she's just trying to stall from answering Hope's very pointed question. 

The redhead mirrors her action of sitting on the machine across from her, still watching Josie expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

She swallows again before answering. "You may have crossed my mind a few times in passing." 

There. 

That should help. 

Hope doesn't need to know just how frequently she had actually been on Josie's mind. And having a small kernel of truth could help spread the lie. 

As long as Hope and Jade never ever interact, Josie should be safe. Her heart picks up speed as a new wave of panic hits her. She could never have her best friend and Hope meet. That could only end in one way: her embarrassment. 

In a split second, her mind spirals on a tangent of just how Jade could embarrass her in front of Hope. Starting with how often Josie had brought up the other girl this past week and ending with the less than pg dreams she has been having.

She's been quiet far too long—the silence hanging between clings to the space as Hope continues to watch her. Josie has to avert her eyes from the intense gaze. 

She wills her heart to stay steady and glances back up towards Hope. The redhead's mouth is tilted in a grin that screams mischief. 

"There wasn't a moment where I wasn't thinking about you, Love." 

Hope says it confidently and with a hint of her accent. It was far too sexy-sounding for Josie's poor gay heart and brain to keep up with. 

Her mouth falls open, and her eyes glaze over for a second as her mind reboots. Josie felt beyond flattered by Hope's words and wants more than anything to believe them to be true.

Hope isn't finished and delights in the reaction she's elicited from the brunette. She leans forward, that mischievous grin still in place. 

"I can't even begin to describe the dreams I had about you." 

She more or less begins to panic, fearing that Hope could somehow read her mind and knew she had dreams about her. Highly explicit dreams that made her blush just thinking about them. It made her think specifically of earlier that morning. 

_ 'God. That was a lifetime ago.' _

Having Hope pressed against her back, touching her, whispering heated words into her ear. 

She is forced to close her eyes for a second and look up towards the ceiling. She can feel herself get even wetter than she already was. 

_ 'Fuck. Why the hell is she so intent on destroying me?!' _

She hears quiet movement as two feet hit the tile floor. Josie keeps her eyes closed and then opens them soon after. Hope is slowly walking towards her, already having closed most of the distance and is halfway to Josie.

Hope takes two more steps, and then she's standing in front of the brunette. 

The only reason she's not standing between Josie's legs is because of how they are crossed tightly over the knee. 

The wolf stalks forward a half step, like a predator.

_ 'Does that make me the prey?'  _

Josie can't help but wish Hope would put her out of her misery already. She wished for the other girl to grab her, to kiss her,  _ to take her.  _

She needed something, and this game of cat and mouse was messing with Josie's mind. 

Hope's hand comes up to land delicately on Josie's crossed knee; The texture is soft yet rough. Her thumb runs across the skin in a back and forth motion.

Josie's legs fall uncrossed uncontrollably as if her body is no longer her own.

"Did you dream of me?" 

Hope's question is whispered strongly to Josie, said in a hushed tone that made the question seem secret. Her heart rate spiked once again as she remembered a different dream she had this past week, where she and Hope were in a similar position. Though Hope was far lower on Josie's body than she was now.

Josie squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to fight off the arousal that struck her hard at Hope's question. If she had kept her eyes open, she would have seen Hope's own closing and breathing in deeply. The redhead could smell the other girl's arousal even more once her legs had been uncrossed.

Hope steps forward and presses her body against the machine, and Josie's body, feeling pleased with how Josie's legs unconsciously wrap around her and pull her even closer than she had been. 

A whimper leaves Josie's lips without her control when Hope's hard stomach presses against her core. She has to bite her bottom lip to stop another moan from coming. 

"Come on, Jo, did you dream of me?" 

Hope presses for an answer even more,

though the smirk that hasn't fallen off her face suggests, she already knows the answer. 

She's leaning her body forward, so her mouth is right next to Josie's ear. Hot breath paints across Josie's face as she can feel a warm pair of lips touch her ear and the line of piercing she has. 

Josie uncrosses her legs from Hope's waist and pushes the other girl back a half step. A slightly deranged laugh leaves her throat at the unfamiliar feelings and emotions coursing through her right now. She slides down from the machine and walks a step or two away from Hope, facing away from her.

Hope doesn't seem surprised by the distance. She simply watches Josie with killer eyes. The brunette had foolishly thought that she'd have an easier time not blushing in front of the mysterious girl when she was fully clothed. 

Her body unhelpfully reminds her that she was a mess around pretty girls, with or without clothes. 

"H-how did you know? That I had dreams about you?" She curses herself for the stutter that touched her words and doesn't look Hope in the eyes. 

She feels arms circle her waist and herself pulled against a rigid body. 

"Well, I didn't know at all until two seconds ago when you confirmed it. But I had hoped you would have kept me in your thoughts as you were in  _ mine _ ." 

Fuck.

_ Fuck _ .

How the hell does this girl keep getting to Josie? Her heart feels like it's going to beat out of her chest with how hard it's pounding. 

This wasn't fair. Josie almost pouts again at how this was turning out. Rather than getting to know Hope more, she was just getting turned on, and nothing was done about it. 

She would prefer to have sex on a bed rather than a dingy laundromat on the east side of town… She had some standards.

She also wanted to get to know everything there is to know about the redhead. She felt it almost criminal that she knew next to nothing about Hope at all. 

Her mind works as fast as it can but stutters to a stop when she feels warm lips pressed against the side of her neck. 

She bites her lip again to keep any noise from being let out. Though she was incredibly horny, she really didn't want to have sex with Hope here and now… Though the idea was very enticing. 

"Hope, stop trying to seduce me." 

She's honestly surprised at how strong her voice comes out. Sure it's a little shaky, but with the girl's added stimulus behind her, she's just surprised that it didn't come out in a moan. 

"But Love, isn't it working?" 

_ 'Yes, that's the problem.' _

The brunette scowls at the comment and wants to tease the redhead behind her. Josie turns around, so she's facing Hope and in her arms. She leans into Hope's body, so her taller form is wrapped around the other girl. Her lips graze Hope's ear. "That's for me to know and for you to find out." 

She finishes her sentence with a small nip of the skin and feels far too pleased with herself as she walks away. 

She jumps back on the washing machine and feels delighted seeing Hope stand there looking like she's trying to control herself. 

Josie can only see Hope's profile and watches as Hope stands still with her eyes closed. She's a little worried that Hope hadn't moved yet since Josie sauntered away. 

When Hope opens her eyes, Josie can see for just a moment a flash of gold in Hope's eyes before they go back to the beautiful blue. 

"Hope?" 

Her head whips towards Josie, looking slightly dazed, and for the first time, Josie has seen her, out of sorts.

"Are you alright?" 

Hope seems to snap out of it and puts a smirk on her lips. "Sorry cutie, I'm all good now." 

Her words don't reassure her.

Josie doesn't push and watches as Hope keeps her distance by sitting where she usually sits across from Josie.

_ 'I wonder if she's okay…' _ Josie had minimal experience with wolves and dealing with them. She and Lizzie were guides for new students at the Salvatore school, but the wolves would bunch together and not let any outsiders in. 

Since Josie was the headmaster's daughter, she was definitely not in the in-crowd of the wolves. 

Though they always did get more temperamental when the full moon was close. 

_ 'Shoot. When is the next full moon… is it sometime this week?' _

Josie has a sinking suspicion that it is. 

_ 'Good job Josie, flirt and tease a wolf that you barely know right before a full moon. That's going to end well.'  _

She almost rolls her eyes but refrains from doing so.

She was so deep in thought that she forgot they hadn't been talking as she had been staring at Hope this whole time. 

She doesn't feel bad once their eyes meet, and she's been caught since Hope has been staring at her as well. 

"So, how's your work been going?" 

Hope asks, her voice a little deeper than usual. 

Josie had been so deep in thought that the question surprises her. And the fact that Hope is starting the conversation without a suggestive edge to it.

"It's been a little hectic. Trying to keep up with classes and working only makes that harder, but I think I'm managing." She moves her shoulders in a half shrug, looking back at Hope.

The other girl hums appreciatively. There's a couple moments of silence that begs to be filled. Josie has a thousand questions to ask but doesn't want to sound creepy. 

"Do you live around here?" 

'Fuck. Way to not sound creepy.' 

Hope looks amused at the question but answers nonetheless. "I'm staying with family currently, for a few weeks."

Josie's brow furrows, "they don't have a washing machine at their house?" 

Hope shrugs. "It's broken." 

Josie has a distinct feeling she's being lied to but doesn't press further. "Where do you usually live when not living with your family?" 

Hope seems hesitant to answer but doesn't look away from Josie's gaze. "I move around a lot most of the year. I've been traveling the world for the past few years. When I'm not staying with family or traveling, I have a cabin not far from here." 

Josie watches with rapt attention, having even more questions she wants to ask. "What's your favorite place you've been?" 

Hope smiles at Josie's enthusiasm and thinks the question over for a moment. "Paris. France has always been one of my favorites places to be. The city is beautiful at night." She gets a faraway look in her eyes. 

"That's amazing... I've always wanted to travel. I don't think I'll get the chance anytime soon." 

"Why do you think you won't be able to?" 

Hope is looking closely at Josie, now waiting for her answer. The brunette shrugs her shoulders and looks away from the intense gaze, feeling uncomfortable with the question.

"I've only ever lived in the same small town my whole life; it took a lot of convincing for my dad to let my sister and I go away from home for college... He only agreed because my best friend goes to college here and promised to look after us. I just don't really see myself straying away from my family, my sister specifically, and the expectations that fall on me."

"It seems like you have been kept in a cage your entire life and are just being given a taste of freedom."

Josie looks back up. Her eyes had avoided Hope's during her ramble.

"Sometimes, it feels like I'm always in the dark. Like I have this inability to do things for myself. "

She bites her lip and watches as Hope looks at her thoughtfully. After a second of silence, Hope begins to speak.

"I know we don't know each other; even if I did see you half-naked. But you deserve to be heard and are allowed to stray away from what your family wants for you. You deserve to be heard, Josie."

Warmth floods through the taller girl at Hope's words. They hold their intense gaze; the moment felt too personal for words to break it.

"Thank you, Hope. No one's ever really told me something like that." 

Before the redhead can reply, the dryer for Josie's machine goes off, signaling the end of their time together. 

Josie doesn't leave right away, even though her clothes are done. She knows she can't stay and wait for the entire time Hope's clothes are drying, but she could stay for a little longer. 

Hope eyes are still on her as that has become a norm for them. "Am I going to see you next week?" 

Josie can't keep the hopefulness that clings to her voice. Hope lips turn up into a slow genuine smile. 

"Do you want to see me?" Josie avoids Hope's gaze; she can feel the piercing blue on her. 

Of course, she wants to see the sexy redhead again. Who wouldn't? But her pride doesn't really want to admit that. 

She bites her bottom lip, nibbling on it between her teeth. "I would like to see you again." Her voice comes out almost shyly, not quite as strong as it usually is. 

She looks back up and catches Hope's gaze. A look of what could only be described as adoration sits on the redhead's face; she watches Josie, still smiling wide.

"Then you'll see me next week," Hope says it merely as if Josie asking is the key to get what she wants. 

She had never been good at voicing her wants and needs out loud; she already struggled to take care of herself at times. 

Hope having her say what she needs fills her with warmth. Her smile turns to that of adoration as well, matching the other girls. 

"I'll see you then, Hope." They continue to stare as Josie lingers before finally packing her things up and walking out the door, a smile on her face.   
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo what'd you think? 👀
> 
> If you read any of my other works, which do you want me to update next?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was beta'd by the awesome SuprisedMe, so shout out to them for editing my fic! 
> 
> Hope you guys like this chapter 💙

Josie sneaks up the stairs to head to her apartment. It's just after three-thirty in the morning and luckily she doesn't have any early classes.

She slowly opens the door and keeps her laundry bag close to her, only struggling a little with the size. 

Her door opens with a creak, and she closes it softly, hoping to not wake Jade or Lizzie up. 

She doesn't expect the light to flood through the room the second she locks the door. 

She jumps back in shock and closes her eyes at the blinding lights, opening them again, slowly squinting as she does.

When she opens her eyes, Lizzie sits on the couch in their living room with one leg crossed over the other. 

She looks like a queen on her throne, ready to announce someone's execution. Josie has a distinct feeling that her death will be called soon.

"Hello, dearest sister. You seem to be back at a late hour." 

_ Well, if there was any doubt at all on who got mom's dramatic genes. _

"Hey, Liz. What are you doing up?" 

She further steps into the room and sets her bag down on the couch, hoping Lizzie will drop the question.

No such luck.

"Where were you, Josette?"

"Did you just first name me?" Josie's mostly shocked at Lizzie calling her that then by the question, but she still doesn't want to reply. 

"Josie. Where were you?" Lizzie is scowling and standing up, facing her sister with her arms crossed.

Josie hesitates before answering; she didn't want to set Lizzie off even more. 

"I was doing laundry..." 

Lizzie narrows her eyes and sets her icy blue gaze onto Josie's bag, seemingly the first time she noticed it. 

"Why, oh, why are you doing your laundry at three in the morning?" 

Her words are clipped short and sound normal, but Josie knows that her sister is waiting for one more trigger to explode. 

"Lizzie, what's really going on? Are you okay? Why do you care if I was doing laundry this late? I needed to get it done and had no time last week. I would rather not run out of clean clothes again." 

She's not lying per se, just more or less stretching the truth just a little. 

"It's not safe, Josie! Do you know how mad dad would be if he found out?" 

Josie can feel some of the fights leave her body at that, but then it is replaced with anger. 

"But Dad won't find out, and it wouldn't matter if he did. He doesn't control my life anymore." 

Hope's words echo in her head over and over again. 

_ 'It seems like you have been kept in a cage your entire life and are just being given a taste of freedom.' _

_ 'You deserve to be heard.'  _

"Look, Liz, I really don't want to fight you on this tonight. Can we talk in the morning?" 

All she wanted to do right now was to go to her room and think about her night with Hope. She could already feel herself get excited about the next week and couldn't wait till she could see the other girl again.

Her body warmed at the thought.

"No, Jo! You came back the second time in two weeks in the middle of the night because you were doing 'laundry,' you can tell me the truth. Jo, please, don't shut me out." 

A stab of guilt shoots through her at Lizzie's words. She hadn't kept Lizzie in the loop at all about her night with Hope; it is sacred somehow. She had told Jade, but even that felt wrong. But at the time, if she didn't tell someone, she felt as if she would have exploded.

Right now, Lizzie looks like she's going to do exactly that and go off on Josie. 

Before the girls can continue their argument, the other door opens as Jade looks out of her room, her hair messy and her eyes blurry.

"Babes, I love you both, but why are we yelling so early in the morning? I have clinicals early today." 

Josie and Lizzie both look guilty and say quiet apologies to Jade as they head to their separate rooms.

Lizzie sends Josie a look that screams, 'we're not finished.' 

Jade pulls Lizzie in for a hug and then reaches to hug Josie. She stops with her arms around Josie's waist and breaths in deeply. 

She takes a step back and runs her eyes over the brunette's body.

"Josie, why do you smell like a dog?" 

The brunette scrunches her brows together and looks almost offended by Jade's comment. 

"No, not like that. You smell different. Like a weird different…" 

She rubs her eyes and shakes her head. "Never mind. Too early to deal with this." 

She kisses Josie's head and steps back into her room. Lizzie had watched the interaction, and both sisters wave goodnight as they step into their separate rooms.

\---

The next week was filled with homework and classes. She worked almost every day as well, which made Josie beyond tired. A coworker had needed to have their shift covered, and she offered to take the two days they couldn't work, making this week even busier than normal. 

She could always use the extra hours but working almost full time while in school bloody sucked. 

She's walking back to her apartment after a long shift, her feet practically dragging on the floor. Coffee stains on her shirt and pants after another coworker spilled not one but two full cups of coffee all over her in the past seven hours. It was so late, and all Josie wanted to do was go home and shower. 

She was almost glad that she didn't have to see Hope later in the night, she would have been too tired. But luckily, she didn't work the next day. She would be able to sleep in as long as dreams of Hope, and the sexual frustration didn't keep her up. 

When she enters the apartment, Jade is in the kitchen cooking something on the stove. She still wore her nursing scrubs from her clinicals today; she must have just gotten home. "Hey, Jo's, you want dinner?" 

Food sounded amazing. So good that Josie can feel her mouth-watering at the thought. "Yes, please," she calls out to Jade while walking into her room. 

A quick shower, and she would be all set to eat and then binge-watch whatever was on tv. 

As the brunette stripped her clothes and hopped into the shower, she couldn't help but think how distant Jade had been the past week. It wasn't a noticeable difference, but something about Jade's and her dynamic had changed. 

Maybe it had something to do with how Jade had avoided getting physically close to Josie as if something had bothered her. She didn't get it. It wasn't like she smelled or something; she showered regularly. 

Josie was in tune with most emotions displayed by those around her, especially her best friend and sister. Lizzie had been trying to talk to her the last week, but Josie had avoided her and the conversation. 

Karma really was a bitch like that.

Once she stepped out of the shower and put clothes on, she walks into the kitchen with Jade finishing the food.

"Hey, I made sure to grab the vegetarian option when I went shopping last; we'll have to grab some more the next time we go." 

Josie nods and smiles, stepping forward to give Jade a hug. The vampire seems hesitant at first but accepts Josie's arms. They release each other far faster than they usually do—a ping of hurt moves through her at Jade's distance. 

Josie doesn't say anything but pushes her hurt away.

"Do you want me to warm up your blood?" Josie sees the cup of blood ready to be warmed up next to the microwave.

Most vampires preferred human blood to animal blood, something about the taste. Jade, however, was not allowed to drink any human blood for her fear of losing control. There had been some instances when they were in high school where she had almost killed someone, but luckily, Emma's help was getting the impulses under control. 

Now, she drank animal blood warmed up to 97.7F to emulate a human's warmth without losing control. 

"That would be great, Jo, thanks." Josie smiles and gets to moving towards the cup, putting it into the microwave and heating it. She watches the seconds tick by and reaches to grab the thermometer in the meantime. 

Once the blood is perfect, she brings it over to the table just as Jade finishes plating the food and turning off the stove. 

It's not awkward per se as they sit eating, but it's not entirely comfortable either. Jade takes a sip and makes a happy noise of contentment as she drinks from her cup. Josie can't help but smile as she watches.

"So, Jo's." Jade begins bringing Josie's full attention to her. Her mouth is full of food, so she can't answer but chews faster. 

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" 

Josie freezes for a moment, her heart beating even faster as she takes in Jade's serious expression. She swallows hard before answering. 

"What do you mean?" 

Jade narrows her eyes and leans forward. "Are you going to see Hope tomorrow?"

Fuck.

Jade seems pissed. Josie can feel the wave of angry energy coming off of Jade in waves. She doesn't know what set her off but doesn't want to further it. 

"I think so..." Josie trails off as Jade's glare furthers into a scowl, not directed at Josie, but looking down at the table. 

"Why do you ask...?" 

Josie's heart is beating out of her chest. She can feel the tension but still doesn't know what caused it. It seemed as if Hope was the issue, but that doesn't make sense... Jade had been perfectly okay with Josie fangirling about Hope before. Well, before the last week, when she had been avoiding Josie. 

"I don't think you should see her again." 

Instead of her heart beating at the rapid pace it had been going, it feels as if it stops altogether. Josie tries to stop the anger that courses through her veins; she knows that Jade wouldn't have said something like this without giving it serious thought, but the mere suggestion angers Josie. 

"Why?" Her tone, colder than she would have liked, but she couldn't stop it. 

"I don't think it's safe for you to see someone in the middle of the night that you don't even know." Jade's words just as cold.

Josie narrows her eyes, her food now forgotten. Before she can reply, Jade has continued. "I mean, come on, Jo's, her clothes were literally covered in blood when you first met!"

"She's not dangerous, Jade. I know she's not. " She was filled to the brim with anger but didn't have much of a rebuttal. Jade did have a point. It wasn't her smartest decision to meet a stranger at two in the morning to do laundry. Especially when she went alone. 

"How can you say that, Jo? You don't even know her." 

Josie's silent for another moment, not sure how to answer. "I know she's not Jade. I can't explain it, but I know she's safe... I can feel it." 

Josie bites her lips and finally looks back up to meet Jade's eyes; she had been avoiding them. They hold eye contact for a long while, almost a staredown. Jade looks away first, sighing as she does. 

"I'm coming with you." 

Jade leaves no room for discussion, already having made up her mind. Thinking over her next words carefully, Josie nods her head.

It feels wrong to let Jade come with her, almost a violation of Hope's trust, which is already weird. However, if it will get Jade to stop treating her like a child and see that Hope means her no harm, she can deal with it.

"Okay."

\---

It's almost two, and Josie's not ready for this. The following day had been spent catching up on homework and classes, but she couldn't get it out of her mind that Jade would meet Hope. 

She wanted to speak with Hope before they went there to see if bringing Jade would be okay... She still feels weird about the entire thing. Jade had at least stopped treating her differently after their talk, even hugging Josie and kissing her forehead as a goodnight. 

It wasn't like she had Hope's phone number or anything and could talk to her. Though Josie wishes she did not for the first time. 

"Hey babe, you ready to go?" Jade arrives out of her room with a bag full of clothes. Josie had been sitting on the couch with her own bag for the last twenty minutes, trying to calm herself down. She must not be successful since Jade looks at her strangely. 

Stupid vampire hearing. 

"You okay, Jo?" 

Josie nods her head and plasters a smile she already knows won't fool Jade. "Yep, all good."

Thankfully she takes that as a response as they head out. 

The walk to the laundromat is quiet. Well, as quiet as a city can be at night. 

There are not many cars on the road where they walk, thankfully, and there are even fewer people. 

Josie kept some form of magic on her at all times or tried to at least. Either some jewelry or a charm on her phone, just something that would keep her safe if the situation arose. 

Granted, Josie hadn't had anything on her that had magic when she went to the laundromat the first time; she shakes her head at the memory of herself stripping and meeting Hope. 

They get to the building quickly and step inside. The winter months were not far off, the cold air chilling Josie to her bones. 

She was glad for the warmth and look's around the room as she tries to warm up. No one else is there per the norm. Jade, for her part, looks even more on edge than when they had walked over, her muscles coiled tight and ready to attack at a moment's notice. 

Josie walks back to her regular machine, Jade following behind her as she does; they've been quiet on the walk over, quieter than usual. Now the only sounds are the creaks in the building from the wind outside. 

"You didn't make her up, right? like I know craziness runs in your family, but you didn't invent a person, right?" Thankfully, Jade's words, while sounding mean, helped Josie laugh and break the tension that had been building. 

"No, you asshole, I didn't  _ invent a person. _ She's real, I promise."

Josie smacks Jade's arm for good measure, the vampire letting herself be hit by Josie's hand. 

"Hey, it's a valid question; Lizzie did it with Sebastian, back in high school, remember." 

Josie rolls her eyes and puts her clothes into the washing machine. "He was real, remember. He tried to manipulate her into letting his desiccated corpse out of that coffin. He was real, though."

Jade and Josie both finish starting their laundry, the water rushing. She begins to play with her fingers, tapping them against her skin and tapping her foot. Josie's afraid Hope would see Jade and not come in to do her laundry or something. 

Luckily as she has that thought, she glances over her shoulder towards the door, seeing a head of red hair. Jade turns as well, and Josie braces herself for Hope's presence. 

"Hey, cuti---" Hope stops herself from speaking as her eyes land on Jade. An expression that Josie can't make out, crosses the redhead's face. Her body becomes more rigid and stiff than how she usually is. 

Most wouldn't have noticed the change in Hope's demeanor, as it was only the slightest change in stature and expression. However, Josie had watched Hope enough that she knew some of the other girl's tells.

"Hi. I'm Jade, Josie's friend." 

Josie can't help but feel a wave of guilt at Hope's closed off expression; she watches Jade with critical eyes.

"Jade had laundry to do as well... and she wanted to meet you," Josie answers the unasked question that Hope had been sending her, her cheeks redden as both Jade and Hope look at her.

"Josie wouldn't stop talking about the sexy redhead that she stumbled upon. You didn't do her justice Jo, definitely a ten out of ten." To Josie's horror, Jade winks at Hope as she says this, her eyes trailing down the other girl's body. 

This was fine. 

Everything is fine. 

Josie's in no way jealous of her best friend. Nope, no jealousy here. 

Hope is now smirking as she watches Jade closely, she glances at Josie out of the corner of her eye. 

"Wow, Cutie, you rated me lower than a ten out of ten? I'm hurt." 

Her cheeks darken even more at the teasing. "I didn't rate you that!" She squeaks out, embarrassed at the attention her best friend and Hope are giving her. 

"Oh? Then what would you rate me?"

No, she can't do this, not in front of Jade. 

Her best friend is no help whatsoever and is watching Josie with barely concealed amusement. 

"Ya Jo's, what would you rate her?" 

Fuck you, Jade

Josie is going to make her pay later. She sends her a glare at the betrayal. 

"Laundry! Hope, you need to put your laundry in!" Josie moves her back to both girls and goes to where they usually sit and jumps on the machine. She can hear the snickering of both Jade and Hope. 

If those two continue tag-teaming her, there is no way she is going to survive the night. Her cheeks have luckily cooled off a bit but are still warm. There's movement behind her as both Hope and Jade move to where she's at.

"Well, Jade, I know Josie probably told you, but I'm Hope." She uses that sexy smirk of hers that never fails to set Josie aflame. 

She immediately hates that it's pointed at Jade. 

Hope begins pouring her clothes in and starts the machine soon after, the sound of water rushing.

Jade sits next to where Josie's at, and Hope jumps up on her usual spot as well. They are all quiet for a moment.

"So, Jade, I have to ask." 

_ Oh, no. _

Hope's smirk and mischievous eyes give away her intentions. Josie can already feel her cheeks heating preemptively before Hope has even said anything. 

"Does Josie usually go around half-naked in new places?" 

She was right; her cheeks heat even more as a blush overtakes her whole face. 

She glances at Jade, who looks like she's trying not to laugh. "I'm sorry, What?" 

Hope continues, only getting bolder. "I mean. I don't know if she told you, but when we met, she wasn't wearing much." 

Josie was going to die; that's all there was to it. 

She was going to die from embarrassment. 

Jade lets out a laugh as she glances back over to Josie. "Babe, I told you we have to get you over that kink." 

_ Fuck, Jade! Stop tag-teaming with Hope! _

"I was almost out of clothes!" 

Josie burrows her face into her hands, feeling herself light up even more. The cackling she hears from both girls does nothing to help her blush.

"So you what, stripped down to your underwear to wash your shirt and pants? Why couldn't you do them both on the second wash later on?" 

Josie doesn't look up. She can't look either of them in the eyes. 

"I didn't think of that at the time." 

Hope put her hand up to her mouth to hide the chuckles that had tumbled out. 

Josie glares at the redhead, "I don't know what your laughing at little miss tried to bite me within the first thirty minutes of knowing me." 

Hope's laughter was interrupted by an angry Jade. 

"You tried to bite her!?" Jade was now glaring at the redhead. Josie realized her mistake quickly and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

With a speed that Josie couldn't see, the vampire is off the machine and takes a menacing step forward. 

Josie is immediately in front of the blonde. "Jade, stop. I'm fine. I set her on fire. It's fine." Josie really hopes she didn't just destroy the goodwill the three of them had been working on. Jade had already been weary; Josie didn't want to give her any reasons to distrust the redhead. 

Jade doesn't stop glaring. "You better not try that again. I'm only going to warn you once, don't hurt her." 

Hope sobers up at Jade's tone and words; they watch each other closely. "I give you my word that I wish no harm to fall to Josette." They nod at each other, and Josie watches as a weird sense of camaraderie passes through them, as if they just struck an agreement. 

It was almost like two predators coming to some form of a pact to not harm the other, but at least Jade seems appeased now, no longer bloodthirsty.

Though the two are not ripping each other's throats out, there is an unspoken tension and animosity between them. Jade has sat back down next to Josie but hasn't stopped glaring at Hope. 

"How have you been, Hope, since I last saw you?" Josie still felt bad about Jade being here. The redhead had only signed up to spend time with Josie, and here she goes bringing a stranger. 

Hope takes her eyes off Jade and looks towards Josie, a smirk on her face signaling trouble. 

"Better now that I have you in my sight. I haven't taken my mind off of you, Cutie."

Josie knows Hope is doing it to make her blush; she knows that. But Hope's low and sexy drawl with that accent.  _ Fuck. _

Josie can feel Jade look over to watch her from the corner of her eye but refuses to make contact. 

"Cutie? does that actually work on you?" 

Jade's tone is more hostile than teasing. 

_ So much for goodwill... _

Hope narrows her eyes and looks back towards Jade as if for a moment she had forgotten the other girl was there.

"It seems to be working out  _ well _ for me considering I can make her blush so easily." 

Josie was getting really sick and tired of the non-subtle jabs and remarks the other two were making about each other, revolving around her. She didn't know how to make it better. Jade seemed intent on trying to rile Hope up, and Hope's actions seemed almost... jealous. 

Josie was biting her lip, trying to diffuse the situation in some way before anything got out of hand. Jade seemed intent on stopping that, the vampire's eyes narrowing as she watches Hope intently. 

"Yeah? What else did you do to her?"

That question threw Hope off guard as her glare turns more confused than angry. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

"I'm curious as to why my best friend came home smelling as if she had just been marked by a wolf."

Silence falls between the three of them, Hope frozen in place. 

"Jade, stop!" 

Josie jumps off of the machine to stand between Jade and Hope from where they both still sit. 

"Hope had nothing to do with it. I allowed you to come here to meet Hope, not put her under  _ interrogation _ ."

She was completely ready to take Jade down a couple of notches, but Hope interrupts her scolding. 

"No, Josie, it's alright, love." Hope takes a deep breath and avoids both of their gazes. "Josie, when I met you, you were half-naked and alone and completely vulnerable. If I had wanted to, I could have hurt you." 

Jade tenses at the wording, Hope notices. " _ IF _ I had wanted to. Which I didn't. But I had also smelled many different supernatural scents on you. Vampires, witches, humans, and wolves all clinging to you."

Hope swallows hard but looks up to meet Josie's gaze. "I was afraid that someone would take advantage of you and try to use you; I wanted to keep other supernaturals away from you." 

"What did you do?" Jade isn't happy in the least, her voice filled with anger, but she allows Hope to continue. 

The wolf, for her part, only glances at Jade and keeps her focus on Josie. The siphoner had never seen Hope like this before, uncomfortable under the attention rather than her usual confidence.

"The last time we met, Josie, I marked you with my scent to keep other supernaturals away. It would work only on Wolves and Vampires." She glances at Jade when she says the word vampire. 

Realization dawns on Josie as she looks towards Jade. "That's why you've been keeping your distance from me the past week, why you haven't wanted to get close. I smelled different." 

"Is it permanent?"

"Not if I stop marking her with my scent; it will eventually fade away. I'm sorry, Josie, I shouldn't have done that without your permission... There are some really dangerous people out there. But that's still not an excuse. 

Hope looks down, looking like a puppy that got scolded after marking its territory. Josie can't help but find it cute, biting her lip to hide the smile that wants to break across her lips. 

Josie wasn't bothered in the slightest that Hope had marked her; she feels as if she should be in some way but doesn't feel weird by it. She felt warm and happy instead. As if her rightful place was to be with Hope. 

Jade seems more at ease now with Hope's answer. Josie closes the distance to Hope, stopping when she’s standing between the redhead's open legs. 

"It's okay, Hope; I really don't mind you protecting me." 

Because that's what it is, wasn't it? Hope protecting her. That thought alone made her feel giddy and had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. 

They stay like that, staring into each other's eyes; Hope gives Josie a genuine smile, seeing that the brunette is not angry with her. 

"Wow, I just love being the third wheel. It's so fun. This isn't sarcasm. No, definitely not."

Josie rolls her eyes at Jade's voice. The other girl didn't have much of a leg to stand on either as Josie wasn't pleased with her. Though she may look past it since she's in such a forgiving mood.

Before Josie could sass her friend, their machine went off, signaling their clothes needed to be changed. Josie jumped in the air, startled once again by the loud noise. This caused Jade and Hope to chuckle a little.

Stupid supernatural hearing and senses they probably already heard the noise before she did. 

Josie steps away from between Hope's legs, not without touching the redhead's knee and squeezing it, sending a smile before she turns. 

She and Jade make quick work of switching their clothes. Josie can feel Hope's eyes on her as they usually are. She feels lighter as the tension from before melts away. 

She can tell Jade is happier as well, no longer sending glares at Hope or passive-aggressive jabs. 

Within a few minutes, Hope's washer goes off and she moves to change her clothes. As the redhead does this, Jade grabs Josie's arm and takes her to the far side of the room, away from Hope. 

"I can see why you can't get the wolf off your mind; she really is hot." Josie feels herself blush and chances a glance at Hope, who is still putting her clothes in the dryer. 

"I can also see why you have a crush on her."

Her heart stops. She is going to desecrate Jade's ass when they get home. They can never get past this betrayal.

"Shut up, she's going to hear you! She's literally right there!" Josie tries to keep her voice down, but it still takes on a higher pitch as she whispers 

"She's clear across the room and only a wolf. It's not like she has vamp hearing." 

Josie takes another look at Hope and sees the girl is finished changing her clothes, but a smirk sits on her face. Josie has a distinct feeling she heard every word Jade had said. 

"Also, it's not my fault you're so obvious with your feelings, babe. It's basically like you're screaming,  _ I want you to fuck me _ at her constantly." 

"Jade!" 

Josie buries her face into her hands at the comment, still having that feeling that Hope is hearing  _ everything _ . 

Jade opens her mouth, another teasing comment at the edge of her lips, but Josie intervenes.

"Mr. Snuffles!" 

Jade freezes momentarily. "If you don't stop teasing me about Hope right now, I'm going to tell Lizzie exactly what happened to him." 

They maintain eye contact with each other, one trying to figure out if the other is bluffing or not. Josie is trying to appear as intimidating as she can but looks like a kitten. 

"Fine. I'll give you two some time together; I'll leave for just a bit." 

Tragically for Josie, Jade's mischief doesn't end there as she and the siphoner head back to where Hope stands.

"I'm going to give you two kids some alone time." She winks at Josie while she says this, a teasing smirk on her face as she watches Josie get redder and redder.

"I'll be at the gas station down the road, be back soon. Don't have sex on the machines. I don't want to come back and be scarred for life." She winks one last time with a pointed look between Hope and Josie before walking out the door.

Josie's cheeks are red with embarrassment and a bit of anger at her friend's teasing remarks. 

She tries to keep her gaze away from the redhead's eyes, already feeling them on her. 

"Mr. Snuffles?" 

There's a lilt to Hope's voice that forces Josie to look over at the girl. Her eyebrow is raised, and she has a not so innocent grin on her face. 

Josie hates that the other girl heard Jade's earlier remarks. 

"It was my sisters and I's hamster when we were twelve... Lizzie named him..." she trails off, her heartbeat picking up even faster at the lie.

Lizzie had some sway in his name, but Josie had chosen the extremely childish name overall. 

Don't judge; she was twelve. 

"How did you even hear that! You were across the room, and we were whispering!" Josie's embarrassment has thankfully mostly left as she turns towards Hope, exasperation taking over.

"I literally have supernatural hearing. How do you think?" 

She's being mocked now, and she doesn't appreciate it. She levels Hope with a glare and goes to make a snarky remark, but Hope beats her to it.

The wolf steps forward into Josie's space, leaning closer so that Josie can feel hot breath fan across her face. Hope's expression makes it seem like she has only one goal in mind. 

"Do you know what else is better?" 

Josie narrows her eyes and lifts her chin up to match the haughty expression Hope is giving her.

"No, but I'm sure you'll enlighten me." She crosses her arms and leans closer.

"My eyes can see very well." Another step, they're mere inches away now.

"My, what big eyes you have." 

Hope grins predatorily. A thrill runs through Josie at the sight.

"The better to see you with my dear." 

Hope leans up now, her body pressing Josie's back into the machine behind her. The cold metal is jarring for a moment until all thoughts end when Hope's next words grace her ear.

"My smelling is also amazing. I can smell  _ everything. _ "

The last word leaves her throat in a growl that has Josie's eyes and thighs clenching tight.

"So, I know exactly what I do to you, Josette." 

Hope nips her ear and growls low and steady. The animalistic sound sends another thrill between her legs. 

A moan leaves her lips unwillingly as she realizes what Hope is implying. Being teased by Hope is one thing, but knowing the other girl can smell her arousal is another thing altogether. 

Embarrassment clings to her insides and forces another blush to her cheeks. 

She can't say anything as her hands go up to her face, and she squeezes her eyes shut.

Hope doesn't let her close up or turn away. She drags her nose from Josie's ear and jaw down to her neck, another growl released. 

_ "Oh baby, did I make you horny?"  _

Josie's eyes fly open and she can stop herself from pushing Hope back a step. She doesn't step away further but keeps her hand on Hope's chest. 

A whimper leaves her mouth before she can stop it; she moves her hand up to her mouth to capture any other sound that threatens to spill out.

Hot anger moves through her body at Hope's words. Arousal sits heavily in her stomach. 

Before the rational side of her brain can start working, she grabs the bottom of Hope's shirt and yanks her even closer than before, so they are chest to chest. 

Her body goes on autopilot when she leans forward and bites down on Hope's neck. 

Her teeth sink into the tender flesh as she bites down even harder. 

Josie doesn't process what she's doing until a loud moan leaves Hope's throat, vibrating against her lips. 

She doesn't pull away but leaves searing kisses on the small mark and reddened skin. She didn't bite hard enough to leave a lasting mark, and even if she did, Hope's wolf healing would step in, taking it away. 

Josie pulls away as fast as possible, slamming her back against the washing machine once she realizes what she did. She only puts a foot of distance between the two.

She fucking just bit Hope. 

Josie hadn't even realized what she was doing, almost as if she was an animal claiming their mate. She doesn't even have the excuse of being a werewolf or a vampire.

Her mouth opens as apologies are ready to fall free, but she sees Hope's eyes are squeezed tightly shut. 

"Hope?" Josie pushes aside her guilt and embarrassment for the moment to make sure she didn't cross a line. 

Hope's eyes flutter open, and all Josie can see are glowing yellow. Hope's mouth is open a small amount as she pants, her fangs glistening in the light.

She squeezes them closed again, and Josie watches in fascination as the visible effects of Hope's wolf recede into herself. 

"Sorry." Hope gives a half dopey grin that Josie is already falling in love with. She's about to say something, anything but is interrupted by the ringing of the bell at the door. 

"What did I say about having sex in here?" Josie startles at the voice of her best friend and jumps away from Hope. In her fascination, she had stepped forward and pressed herself closer to the redhead. 

"Hey, Jade." Josie avoids looking directly at the other girl but can see her drinking a blue slushie and watching Hope and her with a renewed interest.

The fates aligned for Jade's and her clothes to finish in the dryer, the noise-making Josie jump again. 

It felt like she had barely any time with Hope today; another week of waiting before she could see the other girl again caused Josie to frown. 

"What's with the frown, sweetie?" The pet name causes Josie to blush and bite her lip, unsure of how to answer. 

Jade, thankfully is moving to get her clothes, giving them a little space. Though Josie knows she's listening to every word. 

"Will I see you again?" It's reminiscent of last week when she asked the same question. 

"Do you want to see me again?" 

Josie bites her lip again before nodding her head. "I'd really like to see you again." 

"Then you'll see me, cutie." Hope winks at her, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks. 

Hope pauses as if remembering something. "Maybe it could just be the two of us this time? Not that I don't enjoy the occasional interrogation, but I do enjoy having you for myself."

Josie's blush does feel more intense now. Hope smirks at seeing her teasing's physical effects. 

Josie, feeling bold, steps closer to the other girl. "I know you do; that's why you marked me."

To Josie's eternal delight, Hope's pale skin reddens. Josie can't help but feel smug at her successful riposte. 

"Babes, as much as I enjoy a good show, I would really rather not watch the foreplay." 

Josie's victory was short-lived at Jade's interruption. The vampire had already gathered both her's and Josie's clothes. She handed the bag to Josie.

"We need to get going. Can Josie have your number?" 

"Jade!"

Hope raises an eyebrow at the question, a smirk playing on her lips. 

Josie seemed disgruntled at the request and sent a glare towards her friend. 

"What? You weren't going to ask her. Better this than another week of inevitable pining you would be doing until you see her again." 

Hope doesn't comment on how red Josie's face gets, only leans over and hands her phone to Josie, allowing the taller girl to put her number in her contacts. 

"It was nice to finally meet you, Hope. I do hope you keep your promise."

Jade says this as she and Josie make their way out of the laundromat. Josie's cheeks still ablaze. Hope nods her head as she watches Josie and Jade leave. 

Her eyes catch Josie's one last time before the door closes, and she's left alone, the sound of her clothes finishing.


	4. Chapter 4

The next time she sees Hope is, surprisingly, not at the laundromat. 

The past couple of days, Josie had been texting Hope non-stop. She felt like a teenager getting their first boyfriend or girlfriend. She also felt like a schoolgirl with a crush… 

Not that she had a crush on Hope…

Josie just found her insanely attractive and hot and can't stop thinking about her. That doesn't mean she has a crush. She and Hope are just really good friends…

Josie had gotten into a bad habit of texting Hope anytime she possibly could during class, work, and home. Anytime her phone would vibrate, she would reach over and grab it instantly; she's pretty sure she conditioned herself to the sound of the buzzing. 

Whatever, it's fine. She just enjoys talking to Hope. 

The one downside to her constant texting is that Lizzie had become even more suspicious than she already was. Her sister always sends non-subtle eyes towards her phone whenever it buzzes, and Josie picks it up.

Having a sibling meant that they were always nosy and snooping in your business. 

Josie had to chase Lizzie around the house when she found the blonde trying to unlock her phone while Josie had been showering. 

Luckily, her password was something Lizzie would never guess. 

Josie could feel her phone buzz in her back pocket and looks around quickly. She was working the front counter of the coffee shop and just served the last customer in her line. All the other customers were happily seated, sipping their drinks. 

**Hope:** I don't know how you do it, but you manage to pull off coffee stains ;)

Hope was somewhere close enough to see her?

Josie looks up from her phone instantly, her heart hammering in her chest at the thought of unexpectedly seeing Hope a couple days before their scheduled laundry run.

Before Josie can answer the text, the bell at the door rings signaling a customer coming. Josie pockets her phone and gets her profession smile in place to greet the newcomer. 

"Hey, welcome to-" Josie cuts herself off when she sees exactly who it was waltzing through the door.

"Hope!" Josie shouts, too loud and too much to greet someone she absolutely doesn’t have a crush on..

Instead of the usual sweats and a tank top, Hope is wearing Jeans, a black v-neck and a tight leather jacket. 

_ Fuck. I'm too gay for this. _

"Hey, cutie," Hope says, a smirk playing on her lips. 

Josie can't stop the excitement that shoots through her at seeing Hope. She has to do everything she can to not lean over the counter and wrap her arms around the redhead. 

Josie leans forward on the counter towards Hope anyway, but instead says, "Wow, are you stalking me?" 

There's a glint in Hope's eyes at the teasing tone Josie uses. 

"Would you be into that? I could be the predator. You could be the prey." Her eyes sweep hungrily over Josie. "I would love to see you in a bunny costume." 

Josie feels the blush rising to her cheeks at Hope's words. 

_ Fuck, that would be hot. _

Josie could imagine her running from Hope, only to be caught and taken by the redhead. 

Fuck. She really had to stop letting her thoughts run away with her. Clearing her throat, she stops leaning on the counter. 

"What can I get you, Hope?" 

Her voice comes out higher than usual, Hope's teasing coming into effect. 

"Well, I would say your number, but I seem to already have that." 

Josie rolls her eyes, "You're not as smooth as you think you are." 

Hope raises her eyebrows and leans forward at the challenge. 

"Oh? Am I not succeeding in sweeping you off your feet?" 

Josie bites her lip to hide the grin that's threatening to spill out; she forces herself to look nonchalant and shrugs her shoulders. "Is that what you were trying to do? I didn't even notice."

Josie has to fight even harder to hold in a laugh at Hope's near offended look.

Before the redhead answers, the bell at the door rings again. Both girls remember at the same time that Josie is supposed to be working.

It had felt all too easy to fall back to the same pattern of teasing they are accustomed to. 

"I'll have a black coffee." 

Josie nods her head while grabbing a cup to write Hope's name on it. 

"I'll get it out to you in a minute."

Hope frowns at Josie not accepting money when she tries to hand the girl a twenty. She instead slips it into the tip jar when Josie isn't watching. 

She stands off to the side to wait and watches Josie interact with the new customer. Josie can feel her eyes like a heat, never leaving her once.

Josie quickly takes the other customers' order and gets to work making the drinks. Within a few minutes, she's done with both and calls them out. 

She gives Hope her cup, figuring the redhead would leave, but Hope grabs her hand before she can turn around. 

"Are you busy after this?" 

Josie tries to hide her surprise but smiles at Hope anyway. "Not really, why?" She tilts her head in question, not pulling her hand away from Hope.

"I figured maybe we could do something else outside of the laundromat for a change. Maybe I could walk you home...?" 

A warmth settles deep inside Josie's stomach that warms her entire body. Hope surprisingly isn't her usual and cocky self right now. She looks almost shy, her gaze falling to the ground as she asks Josie. 

She looks so cute! 

Josie steps as close as she can with the counter blocking them and leans forward into Hope's space. 

"I'd love to do something with you, Hope." 

Their eyes meet, and Hope gives Josie a real smile. Not a cocky grin or a mischievous smirk, but a genuine smile. It warms Josie even more. 

"I'm not off until 8:00. Is that okay?" 

"Perfect. I'll wait till you get off." 

Hope sends a wink her way while she finishes grabbing the drink from Josie's hand. She walks a short distance away to the table in the back that has a clear view of the counter. The wolf pulls out a sketch pad of some sort from her bag and begins drawing.

The next hour passes by in a blur. Josie keeps glancing at Hope and getting distracted by the redhead, who’s always looking at her as she sketches. She's almost certain now that Hope is drawing her or sketching her in some capacity.

Finally, her shift is over and she and her coworker finish closing in record time.

With her things in hand, she waltzes over to where Hope's at, covertly trying to get a glance at the page that had been covered since Hope started working on it. 

Before she could get a good look Hope is snapping the book closed with a smirk on her face. 

"Hey cutie, you ready to go?" 

"Yep! All set!" 

Josie had been tired that day and had mentioned it to Hope in one of their many texts. But now, with Hope's presence, she felt a wave of energy course through her that hadn't been present before. 

Josie has a skip in her step and can't help but swing her arms back and forth a little as they walk next to each other. Hope watches her with thinly veiled amusement out of the corner of her eye.

Silence hangs between them for a minute as Josie begins to lead them towards her apartment. The sky is a dark blue with the stars and moon shining down on the streets in defiance of the rampant light pollution. Rain must have fallen while she was at work because a light sheen of water coats the ground. 

"So." Hope begins, clearing her throat before she continues. "How did you meet Jade?"

Josie slows down their walking so she can look over at the redhead. Hope, while usually confident and calm, seemed a little cold and closed off.

"My father runs a school for magical beings. Witches, vampires, werewolves." Josie gives Hope a teasing look when she says the word werewolf. "He wanted a place where my sister and I could grow up without getting hurt or hunted and let us learn how to control our powers."

Hope watches Josie, aware of where they're walking but still keeping her focus on the girl. 

"The school was amazing; it had all sorts of kids from different backgrounds and taught us all how to have control. As you could imagine, though, some of the kids had a power complex and used their gifts to do some bad things." 

Josie looks away from Hope's eyes and looks towards the sky. The moon is bright out, lighting up the streets along with the few lamp lights.

"I was always a teacher's pet if you can believe it." She gives Hope a teasing smile; Hope smiles as well, still listening with rapt attention.

"Other kids didn't really like that, and since I was more of a pushover back then, they saw that they could get away with pushing me around and did exactly that." 

They both have slowed down considerably since they started, barely making their way through the streets at the pace they're going. 

"It was after class one day when some of them were picking on me. They tripped me and made me spill all of my food across the cafeteria. Lizzie wasn’t in school that day, and I didn't have very many friends to begin with, so I was alone against three bigger kids." 

Josie looked down and saw Hope's fists closed together, and her jaw clenched tight. Biting her lip, Josie makes a quick decision and grabs Hope's hand and unfurling it, slipping their fingers together. The tension seemed to leave Hope a considerable amount that Josie continued with her story. 

"Anyway, I thought I was going to get beat up since they were all bigger than me, but all of a sudden, Jade appeared and took all of them on. Even though it was three against one, a witch, vampire, and wolf, Jade didn't back down and protected me."

Josie can't help but smile at the memory now, remembering how enraptured with the older girl her younger self had been. 

"She got a bloody nose and some split knuckles, but she kicked their butts. I helped bandage her up after. We've been friends ever since." 

Josie looks back over as Hope hummed. "Is there a reason why you wanted to know?" The question held no judgment, only curiosity.

"Did you and her ever…" Hope trails off. Josie is surprised at how shy Hope seemes, entirely unlike her usual cocky confidence. Josie squeezes their hands together once again.

"We tried to date for a while. It really didn't work out. The few kisses we shared were… horrible. Not because she's a bad kisser, or that I'm a bad kisser, but we just weren't compatible… for dating at least." 

Josie can feel her cheeks darken at her rush of words and tries to continue as if nothing happened. She does notice that Hope's frown grows at the mention of her and Jade kissing. Josie tries not to dwell on what that could mean.

"So, yeah. We're friends… best friends but only friends… nothing else." She cringes at how awkward she's being and her inability to stop talking. 

Hope, however, looks less… whatever emotion she had looked before and seems lighter. 

"I'm glad she was there for you when you needed her," is all Hope answers in response. They are silent for a few moments, still walking quietly together.

As their walk continues on, they are almost at Josie's apartment. The mere thought of Hope leaving is enough for Josie to take them the wrong way just to stretch this out a few minutes longer. 

_ Don't judge her. You'd do the same.  _

"Oh! Jade also wanted me to tell you that you can mark me." 

Silence washes over them as Josie processes the words that just left her mouth. Her cheeks darken instantly as a hot flush overtakes her. She hopes it's too dark out for Hope to see. 

"I- I mean, she said she didn't mind the scent thing as much now that she had some time to get used to it. And she said you didn't smell terrible, so it wasn't an issue or anything, and it does keep me safe…"

Josie closes her eyes, so she doesn't have to look at Hope. Unfortunately for her, Hope stops walking altogether and steps closer to Josie, so their bodies are pressed together. With their fingers still intertwined, Hope uses her other hand to reach up to Josie's face and caresses her cheek.

She can already feel herself leaning into the soft touch and never wants it to end. "Josie, open your eyes." 

She fights against the command for a second before relenting. Her eyes flutter open slowly and meet a startling blue gaze. 

"What do you want, Josie?" 

_ I want you to kiss me. _

Josie almost jumped at the thought but doesn't let it show on her face, only continues to stare at Hope's eyes. The words at the tip of her tongue. At the last second, she changes course.

"What do you mean?" 

Her voice wavers when Hope steps even closer. Josie hadn't thought they could be closer. The hand resting on her cheek moves to the back of her neck slowly. Hope plays with the baby hairs there, nearly causing Josie to moan at the light touch. 

"Do you want me to mark you?" 

Josie wants that and more. Basically, anything Hope would give her, she would gladly take. 

"Jade may have said it was okay, but what do you want?" 

Blue, blue, blue is all Josie can see and stare into, clouding both her judgment and mind. 

"I want you." Josie's eyes widen before she rushes the next words out. "To mark me. I- want you to mark me." 

The red blush from before is back with a vengeance as her entire body heats. Starting from the back of her neck and creeping up to her cheeks. She's a little worried that Hope will feel the change in temperature with how hot she feels.

_ Fuck.  _ Josie can feel the heat creep across her entire body _. _

Hope's eyes fill with mirth and undeniable mischief. She's leaning forward before Josie can even realize what's happening, causing Josie to close her eyes and lean forward as well. 

She opens them again when she feels Hope's cheeks brush against her face on both sides, marking her as a cat would. Her cheeks remain red even when Hope pulls away. 

"There. Now you have my scent." 

She seems so smug in a way that makes Josie want to wipe the smirk off of Hope's face.

So Josie acts without thought and leans forward towards Hope and pushes their cheeks together, mimicking what Hope had done to her. 

Once she realizes what she has done, she keeps the redhead's gaze and tries to look courageous rather than embarrassed. 

"There. Now you have mine." 

They continue to look at each other as a silence washes over them, the moonlight shining down. Josie feels herself leaning forward slowly. It seems as if Hope is beginning to lean in as well. 

They are interrupted by a car honking loudly a street over, the sudden sound bringing both girls back to the present, their moment gone.

Josie swallows hard and tightens her hold on Hope's hand. The air feels intense between the two as they continue walking. 

Finally, their time together seems to come to an end. Josie's apartment complex is in sight, and she doesn't want Hope to leave.

"Hey, Jo--"

"Do you want to come up?" 

Both talk at once, but Josie starts talking faster once the words are out. 

"I don't want you to leave… come up with me?" She bites her bottom lip and delights when Hope's eyes follow the motion. Butterflies flutter in her stomach. 

"I'd love to, Jo."

So they begin to walk up the stairs. Their fingers still twined and held tightly together. 

Josie opens the door with one hand, absolutely refusing to let go of Hope's to unlock the door. 

After some struggle, she finally pushes it open and leads Hope inside. 

"Here we are, Home sweet home." 

Hope looks around the room and begins to walk toward the pictures hanging up on the wall. Josie follows after her. 

Framed pictures of Josie, Lizzie, and Jade are on the wall. 

There's a picture of all three of them together at miss mystic falls. 

There were ones where Josie and Lizzie were in their football uniforms.

There's one of Lizzie and some random guy who Lizzie had gone on one date with but claimed she looks irresistible. So the picture remains up while the guy's face is scratched over with Sharpie.

"You played football?" There is thinly veiled amusement in Hope's voice. 

"I was a center and wide receiver. I'm pretty versatile like that." She lifts her chin in a faux haughty expression, trying to match the way Hope holds herself

"Do you still have the uniform?" 

Josie watches Hope narrowly out of the corner of her eye, "I do have it. You want me to model it for you?" 

There's a teasing lilt to Josie's voice, clearly joking, but Hope answers as if she's serious.

"Actually, yeah. Try it on for me?" 

Red darkens on her face at the question; for once, Hope isn't teasing her and is genuinely asking to see her wear it.

"Are you serious?" 

Hope smiles wide. "I am actually. I want to see you wear your uniform. You look adorable in all of the pictures." 

Josie feels her face heat up; she looks down, so Hope doesn't see. Wordlessly she nods and tugs Hope behind her, heading towards her room. 

She probably should have checked to see if Jade or Lizzie are home but figured that was a problem for future Josie to deal with.

Once in her room, Josie was thanking the gods that she had cleaned up the mess from a few days prior. Her underwear and clothes lying around, along with her school books, didn't make for an attractive sight. 

She digs around her drawers for a moment, trying to find the jersey and shorts that she had worn in high school.

Most of the time the school didn't allow the students to keep their uniforms, but Josie and Lizzie were the headmaster's daughters and that definitely had its perks. 

"Aha! I do still have it!" 

Josie waves the jersey around triumphantly while Hope watches her with amusement twinkling in her eyes. 

"Congratulations, do you want a prize?" 

Josie narrows her eyes at Hope's teasing and decides to tease back. "Hmm, I guess you didn't really want to see me in this, did you?" She makes a show of folding the jersey back up and goes to put it back in her drawer. 

She could feel a presence behind her. Hope wrapped her arms around Josie's stomach and placed her head on Josie's shoulders. 

The brunette wondered if Hope had to stand on her tiptoes to reach this high up on her. All thoughts stop when Hope leans up further, so her lips are brushing Josie's ear. 

"But baby, don't you want to show off for me?" 

Heat makes its way down her body and settles low in her stomach.  _ Fuck,  _ she did want to show off for Hope.

Dirty images flash through Josie’s mind of all the ways she could show off for Hope. She can feel herself getting wet.

Hope begins to chuckle, pulling away so Josie can move. She flashed back to the last time they were at the laundromat, and Hope telling her exactly how good she smelled.

Josie has to stop the whimper from falling from her throat at the idea of Hope knowing she was wet. Her thighs squeeze together. 

Turning around quickly, Josie stalks towards Hope, who had put a few feet of distance between them. 

She strides slowly forward until they're almost touching and then proceeds to lift her shirt over her head. 

The sound it makes hitting the floor is the only sound that can be heard other than their breathing, which is rather heavy on both parts. 

Hope's eyes widen imperceptibly and trail along Josie's half-covered form. 

She lets the wolf stare for another few more seconds, feeling beyond pleased with herself with Hope's reaction. 

She does the same with her pants and lets them fall into a pile on the floor. She's only in her underwear now and is delighted in having Hope's eyes on her. Josie's lips tilt up into a blatant smirk as she takes a step back, eyes still watching Hope as she puts on her uniform shorts and then the jersey.

When both are in place, and Josie looks back up to Hope, the redhead's eyes glow golden. 

"I was right. You look even more adorable in that uniform." Hope's voice is deeper. She clears it once before looking away, eyes pointed towards the ground.

Josie looks away from Hope too, deciding to turn her body and put her hair into space buns. With her hair pulled up, the slope of her neck is in clear view. 

She hears some shuffling behind and sees in her mirror that Hope is sitting on her bed; her eyes flash gold again. 

When Josie's hair is up, she walks over to where Hope sits but is stopped by a slight trail of red on Hope's lips. As she looks closer, she sees that the red is blood. 

"Hope, you're bleeding." 

Josie frantically steps between the redhead's legs and takes her jaw in hand. With her other hand, she lifts her thumb up to Hope's lips and gently pries open Hope's mouth to better see the damage. 

Hope is eerily quiet as she watches Josie; her eyes seem to shine even brighter. "Are you okay?" Josie doesn't stop her administrations of stroking Hope's bottom lip with her thumb. 

Hope doesn't answer, concerning Josie even more. Her thumb goes a little deeper into Hope's mouth as she pulls her bottom lip down to see where the blood is coming from. A small portion of Hope's blood gets on her thumb as she does this, but pays it no mind. 

As she continues unconsciously stroking gently, she doesn't realize how she is positioned, only concerned with Hope's safety. As Josie looks closer, she sees Hope's fangs prominently standing out. She pauses for a second. Josie may not have compared werewolf fangs and vampire fangs before, but living in a school filled with supernatural students, she saw both many times.

These don’t look like wolf teeth.

She pushes the thought away for a later date and strokes Hope's bottom lip again. It seems that Hope had been clenching her teeth and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. The wound already healed, leaving just a bit of blood behind, which Josie mostly has on her thumb.

Seemingly without thought, Hope leans forward slowly and wraps her lips around Josie's thumb, and begins a sucking motion collecting the drops of her blood. 

A stab of arousal hits her low in Josie’s stomach as she watches Hope suck on her fingers.

_ Fuck, that's beyond erotic. _

Her eyes widen when Hope looks at her while she does it, both of their eyes locked tightly together, a whimper almost leaves her throat.

Without the worry of Hope being hurt, Josie takes in the position she's unwittingly put them in. Hope is sitting on the bed with Josie pressed between her legs and Hope still sucking on her thumb as Josie strokes her jaw.

Hope stops her ministrations, pulling back from Josie and sits up straighter. As Hope pulls back and closes her eyes, Josie can see a few black veins going back inside Hope's neck and watches intently at the action. 

Now that Hope is finished, Josie steps back almost in a daze. She feels beyond turned on and honestly wants Hope to do something to her,  _ anything to her. _

"I'm sorry," Hope says uncertainly as her eyes look down towards the ground. Josie quickly steps forward again and takes Hope's jaw in her hands, tilting her face up to look at Josie. 

"Hey, it's okay; I'm just glad you're okay and not hurt." Hope tries to look away again, a wave of remorse crossing her face. But Josie doesn't let her, keeping a gentle but firm grip on Hope's jaw and stepping even closer, so they are pressed chest to chest.

"Hey, I'm not scared of you. You can show me all sides of yourself, okay?" Josie pauses a moment before continuing.

"I want you to show me all of you."

Josie's words seem to have an even bigger impact on Hope than she thought, as Hope looks both relieved and as if Josie hung the stars just for Hope, looking at Josie with adoring eyes.

They don't speak for a few seconds, and Josie can feel the tension rising. She leans forward and places her lips against Hope's forehead in a sweet and gentle kiss. 

Josie can't help but delight in the way Hope's face heats up at the simple action. She bites her lip and tries to keep a smirk off her face. The need to tease Hope comes full-force to her as she lets herself smirk fully. 

"Aw, did I make the big bad wolf blush?"

That only succeeds in making Hope's blush darken even more. Josie realizes why Hope teases her so much. If she looks anywhere near as adorable as Hope looks right now, it's completely understandable. 

Hope doesn't seem to enjoy being teased though, as she narrows her eyes at Josie and quickly lunges forward to wrap her arms around Josie's stomach. 

Before she knows it, she's on the ground with Hope on top of her.

"Hope!" Josie's entire body is attacked by Hope's hands and fingers as she's tickled mercilessly. Unable to do anything but laugh at the feeling of Hope's hands on her.

Josie tries to reach out and stop Hope's hand as it comes to tickle her sides, but Hope grabs both of her arms and holds them above her head. Leaving her completely defenseless.

A strange feeling passes over Josie as she takes in the position she and Hope are in.

Her hands are held above her head while Hope is straddling her hips and tickling her sides with Hope's free hand.

Through the laughter she faces, a dark and secret thought makes its way to the forefront of her mind. 

_ Hope is completely in control. _

The thought brings heat to her already red cheeks, and a different kind of heat settles low in her stomach. The arousal from before that she had thought had settled comes back with even more force. 

_ Fuck. _

_ All I can do is beg, plead, and moan for Hope to stop.  _

She's entirely in Hope's hands. 

She's out of breath and panting, Hope's body coming up and down with Josie's heavy breathing. 

Without saying anything, Hope uses her incessant fingers and scratches as Josie squirms below her. 

A whimper tears itself through Josie's throat when Hope trails a single finger across her side and stomach. She's already sensitive from the previous attack Hope gave her.

Her shirt had ridden up past her belly button and continues to go up just a little higher when Hope's nail scrapes up to where her bra line is.

Hope seems to be in another plane of existence, not quite aware of what she's doing. Her eyes are observing Josie as if trying to discern what's the best way to make Josie squirm.

"Hope." It's said in a half moan and half plea. 

_ Fuck,  _ her voice sounds so needy.

Hope snaps out of wherever her mind has gone and gives Josie a smirk that screams mischief.

"What do you want, Jo?"

A whimper erupts from her throat—visceral images of past dreams where Hope asks that same question in a different context. 

Fuck she wants and wants and  _ wants. _

Josie needs Hope to take her, to touch her past the teasing skimming of her fingers and nails. She wants Hope to rip her clothes off and ravage her. 

Take her in every dirty way Josie's mind can supply. 

She's not aware of anything other than Hope hovering over her, holding her down, breathing the same air as her.

She tries to sit up or fight against Hope's hold on her but is stopped by the sheer strength Hope possesses.

She's defenseless to anything Hope wants to do to her. 

The thought doesn't scare her in the least. She trusts Hope so wholly and entirely, in a way she's never trusted another person.

But Hope's not just anyone; she's a wolf waiting to stake her claim.

When Josie fights against Hope's hold, the redhead's eyes shine a beautiful golden, and she bares her sharp teeth in a growl that has Josie clenching her thighs, squeezing Hope between her legs.

The wolf growls and brings her face down, nuzzling Josie's neck with the tip of her nose. 

Her ragged breathing turns into small moans trying to crawl out of her throat as Hope leans further into her.

Josie looks down to meet Hope's eyes as the other girl begins to lay small kisses on her stomach's exposed skin. 

Each kiss sends heat straight to Josie's core as Hope goes lower and lower. 

"What! The! Hell!" 

Hope and Josie jerk away from each other and look up towards the voice. While they had been distracted with each other, Josie's door had opened and one Lizzie Saltzman came through like she owned the place. 

"Lizzie! What are you doing in here?" 

The blonde Saltzman twin stands eyes wide with a hand over her mouth while she looks back and forth between her sister and Hope.

Josie blushes even more as she pushes down her shirt and tries to straighten out her hair, looking even more guilty as she does. 

Now that the shock’s worn off, Lizzie begins to glare at both Josie and Hope, mostly the redhead who she looks at like she’s an intruder. When Lizzie doesn't say anything, choosing to glare instead, Josie jumps in. "I- I didn't know you were home..." She tries to clear her throat and not stutter as Lizzie's glare deepens. 

Josie looks away at Lizzie's intense glare back to Hope. She seems to be doing a little better than Josie regarding getting caught, the blush on her cheeks dying down. Her eyes, however, are still shining as she seems to struggle to gain control of them. 

"I've been home for the past hour listening to music when I heard what sounded like a struggle. Little did I know it was my sister, trying to get laid." 

Josie's blush flares. She glances away from Lizzie's gaze and sees the bat in her sister's hand.

She looks back towards Hope, who is awkwardly sitting down, but decides to stand up. Josie follows after and tries to smooth out her shirt. 

"Why are you wearing your football jersey? Is this like a kink I didn’t know you had?" 

_ Oh god. Just kill me now. _

"No! It's not a…" Josie trails off before finishing her sentence. "A kink. This is Hope." She swallows hard and when Lizzie shifts her narrowed eyes over to the aforementioned redhead, arms crossed. 

Lizzie looks Hope up and down before shrugging nonchalantly. "I don't really need to know about your hookups, Josette. Just make sure you're safe." 

Lizzie goes to turn away, but Josie grabs hold of her sister's arm, stopping her from getting further. 

"This is Hope." Josie begins again, stating it firmly. "She's not a hookup, and we weren't about to have sex." 

_ Liar. _

A little voice in the back of her head unhelpfully points out. She pushes past the thought to continue.

"She's a friend, and I wanted you to meet her. Jade's met her." 

Realization lit up across Lizzie's face. "Oh! This is the crush you've been obsessing over!" The blonde looks between Hope and Josie as if her statement makes perfect sense. 

Josie's one step away from being completely mortified and wants the conversation to end. Hope decides to step in, objectively, at the worst possible time.

"Crush?" 

Josie looks over at Hope with apprehension. She's terrified when she sees mischief in the older girl's eyes.

"Yes! Josie has been texting someone nonstop for the past week. And has been sighing dramatically as if she was reading letters from her lover that had gone off to war! It all makes sense now!"

Josie looks down at the ground, wishing it would swallow her whole and take her away from this hellish conversation where it seems Lizzie is intent on humiliating her. 

"Okay! Time for you to go!" Josie moves and pushes Lizzie out of her door before her sister can stop her. She closes it tightly and, for good measure, locks it. 

She knows that Lizzie can easily get in with a spell but knows she won't chance it with Hope here. Josie's cheeks remain red as she leans her forehead against the door, groaning. 

She doesn't want to look at Hope's annoyingly smug and perfect face or the teasing glint of blue that haunts Josie's dreams. Or that rock hard body that also haunts her and keeps her up and wanting. She doesn't want to look at any of it.

That's a lie. She always wants to look at Hope.

Instead of waiting for Josie to turn around, Hope has other plans, stepping forward, so she's almost pressed against Josie. 

"So, crush?" 

Cheeks flaming, even more, Josie squeezes her eyes shut. Butterflies fly through her stomach at the teasing. 

"Lizzie's delusional. She doesn't know what she's talking about." 

Hope hums while stepping forward a half step more so she's less than an inch away from encasing Josie's body. Hope's lips touch the skin of Josie's ear.

"Don't worry, cutie, I totally believe you." 

Josie pushes Hope back with her body and wiggles against the other girl as she tries to escape. 

She's unable to make much room with how strong Hope's body is. 

_ What is she made out of? Literal steel? _

She's able to wiggle herself around so that she's facing Hope. Face to face, chest to chest. 

Josie's hand comes to rest on Hope's hips while the other touches her hardened stomach unknowingly. 

"Hope…" 

They stare at each other for a long second before both lean in ever so slowly. Josie feels herself yearn to have Hope's lips on hers and wants that more than she's ever wanted anything before.

Sadly, the fates didn't align because at the last second, Hope pulls away.

She steps back to give Josie space and room to move, her back turned away from Josie. 

Swallowing hard and stepping back from the door, a sinking feeling rushes through; it's the same feeling she gets when there's too much awkward tension in a room, and she's unable to change it. 

Hope keeps her back turned away from Josie, her body tensed. The siphoner steps forward and reaches a hand out to touch Hope on the shoulder, maybe to calm her down. 

The second her hand makes contact with Hope's body, the tension leaves altogether. Hope sighs audibly enough that Josie hears. 

Josie moves her hand more firmly now, drawing patterns and shapes onto the skin all over Hope's back. 

The tension remains high but dissipates enough that Josie's beating heart can calm down. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Hope turns around. 

"Hey, I think I should go." Hope makes eye contact with Josie for a second before dropping her gaze, looking guilty. 

Josie nods her head once, then twice, words she's unable to say on the tip of her tongue. 

_ I want you to stay.  _

She can't get them out. 

Wordlessly both girls move ‘till they’re outside of Josie's room and heading towards the apartment door. 

Their eyes meet again, Hope's hand on the doorknob, waiting to turn it and leave. Josie watches as she does so. "I had a fun time, Josie. Maybe we can do this again?" 

Hope's voice is filled with want and hope, causing Josie to breathe a sigh of relief. 

"I'd really like that, Hope." 

Hope doesn't answer verbally but instead looks hesitant before she leans forward into Josie's space and kisses her cheek. "Goodbye, Josette." 

While Josie's in a daze, she steps out the door and begins her descent away from Josie. 

While she watches Hope walk away, Josie doesn't close the door until Hope is entirely out of sight. 

She leans her forehead against the cold material of the doorframe and sighs loudly.

A voice behind her clears their throat, causing Josie to stiffen. She glances behind her to see her sister sitting on the table, a magazine in hand with her legs crossed. 

"Dearest sister, I think we need to have a little chat." 

_ Fuck. This is why I didn't tell you about Hope. _

With her fate sealed, Josie walks over to the table and sits down, waiting for her interrogation to begin. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh Lizzies not a happy sister
> 
> They finally are away from the laundromat !! What did you guys think? 👀 
> 
> Josie thinks Hope is hot


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would definitely like to clarify that this chapter pics up in heat a little bit 👀 so the mature rating comes into play more, hope you enjoy!

Josie walks over to the table as her sister watches each of her movements with careful nonchalance. She gives away nothing of what she's feeling. 

Josie knows her sister better than anyone, only Jade rivals her knowledge of Lizzie. But right now, she has no idea what’s going on in her sister's mind.

"So, who's your  _ friend _ ?" The way she says friend makes it perfectly clear what she means.

"I met her a few weeks back, and we've gotten a lot closer…"

Lizzie narrows her eyes, "are you dating her? You seemed adamant that she was a friend." 

How to lie when your twin knows everything about you and can almost always tell when you're lying…?

"We're not dating, only friends." She's really not lying; she and Hope are just friends. They're not dating, even if Josie wants them to be.

"Hmm, I'm sure. Where did you meet her?" 

_ Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I can't tell her the truth.  _

Josie looks around quickly, hoping for some way out of the conversation. When none appears, she sighs and looks back at Lizzie's neutral expression. 

"We met at the laundromat, the first time I went." 

Lizzie's mouth hangs open, and she gasps dramatically, "So that's where you've been sneaking off to in the middle of the night all these weeks!"

Josie furrows her brow. "Lizzie, I told you where I was every time I went. I wasn't sneaking off."

Lizzie ignores her and leans forward to begin a rant. Before she can though, the door to their apartment opens and in comes Jade dressed in her nurse scrubs. 

"Hey, babes. What are you guys up to?" 

The vampire waltzes through the small apartment, setting her things down and seemingly unaware of the tension she's interrupting.

The twins share a silent stare down with the other. Josie breaks their contact first by jumping up and walking to Jade.

"Hey, how was clinicals?" She wraps her arms around the vampire and hugs her tightly as Jade kisses the top of her head.

"Long. Sometimes I wonder why I got into nursing in the first place." As she speaks, she leans into Josie more, nuzzling her nose into the brunette's hair. She stops for a moment as her body freezes, and she pulls away to look at Josie's face. "Did you see Hope today?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, Jade. How do you know this elusive Hope?" 

Jade freezes again and looks between Lizzie and Josie, sensing the tension that had been in the room since she walked in at last. 

"Oh my god, Lizzie. Enough with the passive-aggressive bullshit." Josie steps away from Jade and sits down at the table. 

"Hope came to the coffee shop and walked me home after my shift, so I invited her up, and we got in a stupid tickling war which Lizzie walked in on." She looks back towards her sister. "It's not a big deal." She shrugs as she says it. 

"Not a big deal! She was straddling you, and you were moaning like a dog in heat!" 

Heat flushes her entire face, both in embarrassment and slight arousal as she remembers Hope on top of her.

"Th-that's not what happened." Josie curses at her inability to speak, especially since Lizzie looks at her with a victorious smirk.

"See! You can barely deny it! Jade, back me up here!"

The poor vampire looks between the two girls in confusion, unsure of her next move. Josie rolled her eyes at Lizzie dragging Jade into their argument. The other girl hated getting put in the middle like this.

"Lizzie, enough. Hope is just a friend, and just because you happened to walk in on a semi-sketchy moment doesn't mean anything. Nothing is going on between Hope and me."

_ Liar Liar Liar Liar Liar Liar Liar _

She gulps and cuts off that line of thinking, especially at the kiss that had nearly happened right before Hope had pulled away and left. 

Lizzie narrows her eyes and opens her mouth again, but Jade thankfully steps in. "Jo's right this time, Liz. Maybe save the argument for another day. One where I can actually keep my eyes open?"

Now that Jade mentioned it, she looks beyond tired. Her eyes drooping and her speech slower than usual. Her hair is a bit chaotic too, like the wind had blown it around. 

"Fine. But don't you dare think this conversation is over, Josette." 

Lizzie stands up, scooting the chair back, so it scrapes loudly on the floor before walking over to her room with a huff. 

The second her sister is out of sight, Josie crosses her arms and lays her head on the table, groaning as she does so. 

"So, I take it the meet up didn't go well?" 

Jade slides down next to Josie and puts a comforting hand on the girl's head, stroking her hair comfortingly. 

"It's not that." Her words are muffled until she sits up and faces Jade. "I can handle Lizzie being nosy, but after Lizzie left Hope and I had a moment." Jade raises her eyebrow and waits for Josie to continue. 

"Well, at least I think we did… She pulled away before anything could happen." She bites her lip and looks away.

"Well, maybe she just got scared and didn't want to disappoint you?" 

Josie snorts a little bit at the suggestion. "I don't think Hope gets scared. She's so… badass and hot and sexy… cute… adorable…" Josie trails off, having forgotten where she was going with her sentence. 

"Babe, that doesn't mean she can't get scared. Your feelings may seem obvious to you, but she doesn't really know what's going on in that pretty head of yours." 

Josie takes in the words and nods. "That … actually makes sense. Maybe she and I need to have a talk about what we're doing?" 

"Exactly! See, just tell her how you feel and the rest will fall into place. Seems like she’s way into you if that helps any." 

Jade stands up and ruffles through the kitchen, searching for a snack. When she's successful, she grabs the blood bag and pulls it out, ready to warm it up and guzzle it down. 

The sight of the blood makes Josie feel a little squeamish but also remember something important. 

"Jade, can I see your fangs?" 

The other girl pauses her pouring of the blood to look over at Josie. "Why do you need to see my fangs, Jo?"

"Just curious. I don't really remember the last time I saw vampire fangs." She shrugs her shoulders in what she hopes is nonchalance. 

Jade gives her a puzzling look but is also too tired to care. She sets her cup into the microwave and sets the timer, heading over to Josie. 

Jade moves her lips away from her teeth, baring her fangs. Josie watches in awe as the fangs continue to grow from the other girl's gums with practiced and controlled ease. Josie was proud of how far Jade had come with her control. 

She steps closer once the fangs are fully extended and brings her hand up to Jade's jaw to get a closer look. 

It looks eerily similar what she thought she saw in Hope's mouth…but not identical. 

Josie furrows her brow once again as she looks closer, trying to remember. Hope's fangs had almost looked like a mix of both wolf and vampire…but that was impossible…wasn’t it?

Her thoughts are interrupted by Jade's fangs retracting back until her teeth look normal and human. "Want to tell me the real reason why you wanted to see my fangs?"

As she speaks, Jade goes to pull out her blood that has gotten a little too hot. She blew on it to cool it down. Once it was cool enough, she brought herself back towards Josie, who had not answered her question. 

"No reason. I was just curious." Josie avoids Jade's penetrating gaze as the other girl observes her.

"Mkay… Well, if you figure out why you wanted to see them and want to talk about it, I'm all ears." Josie nods her head rapidly, readily taking Jade's out.

Josie stretches as she stands up, ready to head to her room and maybe get some last-minute homework done. 

"I'm going to go do some homework. Do you mind if I siphon from you?" Jade raises an eyebrow but puts out a hand for her to grab onto. The reddish glow begins and Josie feels that addictive rush of magic flowing into her once again. 

And it is addictive. All-consuming at times. Each person she siphons from feels different, depending on their species and the amount of magic in their blood. Hope had more power in her than Josie had ever felt in her entire life. It had washed over her and almost felt like what she imagined ecstasy would be like. At the time, she hadn't been able to understand the power nor analyze it. But now, with Jade to compare against, she could see just how different it had been. 

It’s always hard to stop siphoning, always a risk that she won’t be able to pull back. But Josie pulls her hand away and luxuriates in the warm feeling of magic coursing through her again.

"Thank you, I'll see you in the morning?" Josie's already leaning in to hug the other girl, allowing Jade to wrap an arm around her. 

"Of course. We'll talk again when I'm not dead tired, okay?" 

As she turns and walks into her room, Jade calls out to her one last time. "And Josie? You have fun with your research."

She emphasizes her statement with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a wink causing Josie to blush.  She truly had intended to do some research for homework, but she also planned to research some other… non-pg related things. Having a roommate with supernatural hearing meant she had little privacy to do something like that unless Jade happened to not be in the apartment.

Josie quickly ducks into her room and closes the door, a blush sitting heavily on her face. She locks her door and says a spell that will soundproof her entire room from the rest of the house. 

She did this spell often back at Salvatore when she needed a quiet place to study. Now, however, she's using this for something a little different than studying.

She sheds her jersey and shorts, hearing them hit the ground in a soft thud against the floor. Only in her underwear, she gets on her bed, letting her mind wander to Hope. Hope’s hands… Hope’s mouth… Hope not being interrupted by Lizzie…

She moans at the thought of Hope on top of her, straddling her hips and holding her down like she was weak as a kitten.

Josie's hand makes its way to the waistband of her panties, going lower and lower, imagining it was Hope's instead.

A little moan leaves her lips when she feels the wetness pooling in her underwear. A dirty thought enters her mind at the idea of Hope knowing how wet she was earlier. Not just knowing, but being able to smell her.

_ I know exactly what I do to you.  _

She strokes clit over her panties, a slow and gentle pattern working herself up. For once, she allows herself to imagine what it would be like for Hope to truly take her.

The Hope in her mind stays on top of her and holds her hands above her head, mirroring the position she had been in earlier. 

_ What do you want, Josie?  _

Another whimper leaves her mouth at the thought of Hope's beautiful red lips saying her name in that low voice.

She keeps up the circular motion on her clit, pressing harder as she goes. She had only just started but is so incredibly turned on that she's already at the edge. 

_ Come on, Josie. Tell me what you want. _

"Fuck me. Please." She doesn't realize she's said the words out loud.

She's so close as she slips her finger inside her underwear, gaining speed as she bares down on her clit hard. It's almost too much stimulation, but she pushes through until she's about to fall over that glorious edge with Hope's name on her lips…

And she's pulled away at the last second by her phone ringing beside her bed. 

She jerks her hand out of her underwear as fast as possible. Her heart beats hard as she pants, still disoriented from the sudden sound. She scrambles to reach for her phone, using her clean hand to grab it off her nightstand.

Hope's name flashes up on the screen, causing Josie to blush. She's tempted to let it go to voicemail, the embarrassment at what she had been doing coming through her in waves. 

With a bit of courage, she takes another breath and answers the phone. 

"Hey, Hope." Josie swallows after she speaks and prays that she's not too out of breath. 

"Hey, cutie. I was just calling to check up on you. Did you get the third degree from your sister?" 

Josie sighs and still tries to even hear breathing, "it wasn't too bad. She can be a lot sometimes, but I can manage. How are you?" She cringes slightly at the awkwardness she feels. She's still in only her underwear and uncomfortably wet.

"I'm good. I just got back home. I had a lot of fun earlier Jo, and I’m sorry that we were interrupted."

Josie's mind supplies her once again with Hope's image on top of her holding her down. A whimper almost leaves her throat at the thought. 

"I- I had a really great time with you tonight too, Hope… maybe we could do it again sometime? Hopefully without interruption?"

She clears her throat again and prays Hope doesn't notice anything is off with her. 

"That sounds perfect, Jo."

They’re both silent, the silence not uncomfortable but a little awkward; Josie's all too aware of her state of undress and what she’d been doing to thoughts of the woman on the other end of this phone call. 

"Hope, are you busy tomorrow?" 

Silence on the other end drags on for a few seconds too long, causing Josie to begin panicking internally. 

Before she can work herself up too much, Hope answers and puts her out of her misery. "I'm not busy. What were you thinking?"

Josie hadn't been thinking; the words had tumbled out before she even realized that she had been speaking. However, she really wants to see Hope again. As soon as possible, preferably.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow? I don't have work, and I get out of classes at three…" Josie trails off and panics once again when Hope doesn't answer in the split second after she finishes talking. "I totally get it if you don't want to, you know what, why don't we forget I suggested that and we just do our regular meet up at the laundromat. If you even still want to do that…"

"Josie, breathe."

She takes a deep breath, having forgotten to breathe for a few seconds in her ramble. "I would love to hang out with you tomorrow after your class." 

Josie sighs loudly in relief and is only mildly embarrassed when Hope laughs a little. "Awesome. Cool cool cool, that's great. I'm going to shut up now." 

Her cheeks feel like they're on fire, she's cooled down considerably considering what she had been doing, but she still feels far too awkward, afraid Hope could tell if something was up.

Hope's beautiful laugh brings her out of her musings and embarrassment. She hadn't heard it much before, and it was easily one of her favorite sounds now. 

"Hey Jo, are you okay? You sound a little off and your heart was doing a weird rhythm when you answered the phone."

Josie can feel panic start to rise again, not sure what to say. Complete terror comes at the idea of having Hope find out just what she was doing a few minutes ago. 

"Don't worry, Hope. I'm completely fine. All good here." She does finger guns into space with her free hand, even though Hope is on the phone and can't see her. Actually, she's thankful that Hope isn't here to see how much of a dork she is. 

"If you're sure, Jo. I can come back over if you want? I could easily sneak up the fire escape." 

Red tints her cheeks at Hope coming up, and just like that an entirely new fantasy is born. Hope watching her through the window…touching herself. 

Fuck. Josie really needed to get a hold of all these dirty thoughts. She's beginning to feel like a twelve-year-old boy.

"No, that's okay. I promise you I'm all good. But I'll still see you tomorrow after my class, right?" She swallows hard and squeezes her thighs shut, her hand trailing down her stomach ever so slowly. 

"Of course, Jo, I'll see you then." Hope replies back, causing Josie to sigh in relief. 

"Perfect. I'll see you then, Hope. Bye. I love you." She's about to end the call before what she said registers in her head, and total dread takes over. 

Before she can freak out too much, Hope's beautiful laugh echoes across the phone once again. "I love you too, Jo. Sweet dreams." And Hope ends the call. 

Josie breathes out a sigh of relief at Hope not realizing anything. She's still uncomfortably horny but chooses to worry about that later and go to sleep. 

After changing into pajamas, Josie gets under the covers. She struggles to fall asleep, and when she does, her dreams are plagued with heated touches and stolen kisses. 

-

Josie's sitting in her class and barely paying attention to her professor. It's 2:56, and he doesn't even seem close to stopping.

Her leg taps against the floor impatiently waiting for her release.  _ I need to leave… Hope's going to be here soon and I need to leave… _

She checks the clock again for it to only read 2:57. 

Another minute goes by that feels like an eternity. She hasn't listened at all this entire class in the least; she doesn't even know what she's written down for her notes. 

Now she's packed up and ready to be the first one out of the class. She sat closer to the door this time rather than the middle section she's accustomed too. Now with the minutes ticking away, she's thankful she did. She doesn't want to get behind the blockage of slow-moving students.

Especially since she has a date. 

Josie stops breathing at the thought. 

_ It's not a date. It's not a date. Fuck. _

The clock hits 3:00 and her professor finally dismisses them. Josie is the first one out the door. 

She felt her phone buzz and she grabs it instantly, trying to pay attention to both her phone and where she's walking. 

Hope: hey cutie, I'm waiting outside that building with the tree that looks like a penis.

Josie has to double check the text again, slowing her walk because she tripped over her feet the first time reading the text.

She scrunches up her face and looks up to where some trees are in a row by the student commons building. She looks closer at the biggest tree and sees the trunk of it is gnarled in a way that it in fact does look like a penis. 

Josie rolls her eyes a blush already on her cheeks from walking fast. She sees a lone figure standing by the tree that looks suspiciously like a sexy wolf she knows. 

As Josie comes closer, Hope is turned with her back towards Josie, giving the brunette an idea. She gets closer and when she's sure Hope has probably heard her and jumps over wrapping her arms around Hope's stomach. 

It all happens faster than Josie's mind can keep up with, but one second she's standing, and the next she's on the ground, being flipped by Hope. 

She doesn't hit the ground hard so it doesn't hurt, it only knocks the wind out of her. What does manage to startle her is Hope straddling her hips with one hand holding her arms above her head and the other wrapped loosely around her neck. 

She gulps at the image and feels a wave of heat hit low in her stomach at the position they're in, a series of new fantasies being born as her libido starts listing off the things Hope could do to her like this. Luckily, Hope sees it's her and jumps off of Josie, apologies stumbling out of her mouth. 

"I'm so sorry, Jo, I didn't realize it was you. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" She helps Josie up to her feet while apologies still flow from her lips. 

"I'm okay, I promise you didn't hurt me. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." Josie adjusts her skirt that had ridden up a little with the fall. 

Hope still looks apologetic and does a sweep of Josie's body, presumably to check for any injuries. However, Hope stops her searching when she lands on Josie's legs, which are being shown off even more by the skirt that's embarrassingly short. 

When Josie had gotten dressed this morning she may have wanted to look good for Hope, and might have chosen a cute yellow button up top she loves and a short black skirt with malice aforethought. She regretted the decision only a little bit as the October air nipped at her bare skin. 

Hope stops staring at her legs and sweeps back up towards Josie's face. When they make eye contact, Hope seems to realize she was openly ogling Josie and jerks her gaze away and to the ground, red staining her cheeks. Josie loves that color on Hope, and wants to see more of it. 

She steps closer so they're only a few inches away, "it's okay, I don't mind you looking."

She doesn't know where the confidence came from, but she's going to ride it for all it’s worth. Especially since Hope goes even more red at Josie's teasing. She's starting to really enjoy Hope's eyes on her and wants nothing more but to keep them there.

Hope trails her gaze up and down Josie's body once again before snapping out of whatever she was thinking and clears her throat. She's not able to wipe away the hunger and lust from her eyes, sending a thrill through Josie's entire body.

Now that she's paying attention, Hope looks like a celebrity trying to hide from crazed fans with what she's wearing. A black baseball cap sits low on her head. and sunglasses sit on top of the cap. She has all black on with her hair tied in a low ponytail.

"So, how was your day?" She sounds so awkward and completely un-Hope like that Josie has to stifle her giggles. 

"It was good, how was yours?" As Josie speaks, she leans over and grabs Hope's hand so their fingers are laced together again. 

"It's perfect now that you're here." Hope brings Josie's hand up to her lips and kisses the back of it, keeping eye contact with the other girl as she does. A blush makes its way to Josie's cheeks as she watches Hope. 

When Hope stops the gentle kiss, Josie clears her throat and squeezes Hope's hand and begins walking.

"Flirt." She shoots a playful glare at Hope while the redhead gives her a smirk. 

They continue walking away from campus and Josie isn't actually sure where they’re going, but Hope is leading so she doesn't worry. 

"Where did you live before coming to New Orleans? I know you said you lived in a small town." Hope asks, looking at Josie as she does. 

"There's this little town in Virginia called Mystic falls. It's where my Dad and Mom started their school. I never really left until this year." Josie looks off in the distance, wondering just how different her life would be if she hadn't left her hometown. The thought is already bleak considering she wouldn't have met Hope. 

"I'm glad we got out of there when we did. I wouldn't have left if it wasn't for my sister leaving as well." Josie bites her lip and feels a wave of guilt that she's been harboring for leaving her Dad and the school.

"Speaking of your sister, she doesn't seem to like me very much." Hope tugs them down a dark alleyway that should probably have Josie a little worried. But she trusts Hope, so she doesn't question it. 

"She doesn't like anyone that I'm ..." she trails off with her sentence. She was going to say 'anyone that I'm interested in,' but she would sooner die than admit that to Hope. She clears her throat and continues. "That I'm friends with. She can be a little possessive of me. That's why she had hated Jade at first until she found out Jade had protected me." 

Hope hums while looking over at Josie, "I had a question about Jade from the other night." 

Before Hope can ask it, they arrive at wherever Hope had been leading them. A small bar sitting on the corner of the street.  A sign above proudly proclaiming the place to be  “ **Rousseau's** ” in bold letters lit with some fancy stage lights.

Josie glances over at Hope and back at the bar, seeing that Hope is walking them straight for the door.

"Hope, I can't go in there." 

Hope stops and looks over at Josie, pausing as she does so. She tilts her head in confusion and Josie can't help but see the resemblance to a puppy.

"I'm not twenty-one. I actually don't even know how old you are, but I'm only eighteen. And I look twelve."

Hope gives her a lopsided grin and pulls out two blank plastic cards and pulls Josie over to the wall. "Siphon from me and say this spell, okay?"

Hope leans up to Josie and whispers Latin words into her ear, sending chills down her spine. Josie is skeptical at first, but she begins to siphon from Hope slowly from their intertwined hands. 

The position Hope put them in is more than a little precarious, Josie is pushed against the wall while Hope leans into her, hiding the glowing hands from any prying eyes. 

The second she begins to siphon, Josie feels alive in a way she hadn't before. Hope's power is rich and invigorating, sending a powerful thrill through Josie's entire body. 

The spell doesn't require much magic, unfortunately, because Josie is stopping the flow of magic far too soon than what she wants. 

When she's touching Hope, she wants to take, and take and take. 

_ Never stopping until Hope begs her.  _

Whoa. Josie blinks slowly at the thought, and feels a little embarrassed at where her mind had gone. Less than pg images flood her thoughts and still linger. She swallows hard and then says the Latin words Hope had told her. 

The two cards in her other hand change shape and form, until she holds two fake ID's that look identical to her actual license, one for Hope and one for her. The difference here however, is the change in birth dates.

With the cards delicately snatched from Josie’s hand, Hope leads them through the front door. Josie tries not to look too nervous while Hope presents the fakes to the bouncer, but they are waved in with barely a pause.

Inside is exactly what Josie always imagined a typical bar would look like. There are very few patrons sitting at the various tables, which makes sense as it’s the middle of a week day.

Hope leads Josie to the bar and they sit down, waiting for the bartender.

"Come here often do you? You’re a real troublemaker aren’t you?" 

Hope smirks at the statement and leans over ‘till she's touching Josie's hand again. "Are you into that? Damaged and troubled bad girls?" 

Josie looks away from Hope's intense gaze, not wanting to answer the question. The truth was that Hope was the epitome of Josie's type, from the leather jacket to the mysterious exterior. Everything about Hope, Josie was into. 

Josie refuses to make eye contact, especially since she can feel the heat of her blush and Hope's penetrating stare. 

Hope gives her some mercy and looks away. Josie glances at her and sees the smirk still sitting on her face.

The bartender comes and they order quickly. As he brings their drinks over, Hope asks "So what happened to Mr. Snuffles?"

Josie snorts at the question, remembering back ten years prior. She hadn't been expecting Hope to ask about that at all.

"Mr. Snuffles was mine and Lizzie’s hamster. Our Dad got him for us to teach us responsibility and all that."

Josie looks away, remembering, a smile on her face. 

"We took great care of him, and Lizzie had taken it upon herself to act like a mother to the rodent. I think she enjoyed the idea of taking care of something that was living and breathing. Well, one day, Jade and I were studying in our room, and she got a little too hungry."

Hope's eyes are wide as she watches Josie's mischievous gaze, a hand-drawn up to her lips in disbelief. 

"She ate your hamster?" 

Josie tried to contain her laughter. "She was still struggling to control her impulses, and I got a paper cut. To stop herself from hurting me, she reached into the cage and…well, you get the picture" 

Josie smiles fondly at the memory. "I promised to never tell Lizzie and only ever bring it up when Jade needs to be taken down a notch or two."

"Wow. I was not expecting that when you threatened her the other night with it." 

Josie cringes again at the thought of Hope hearing her conversation with Jade. Her friends always seemed intent on embarrassing her at every opportunity. Lizzie was a prime example.

Speaking of her sister, Josie feels her phone ringing and goes to answer it, Lizzie's name is in bold with a heart next to it on the screen. 

She sends Hope an apologetic look before answering. "Hey Liz, you okay?" 

"Where are you?" Lizzie asks, ignoring the question Josie just asked her. She rolls her eyes at her sister's response. Glancing over at Hope as she does. 

"I'm… out, I just got out of class a little while ago, why?" 

"Since you lied to me earlier about the sexy redhead, you are going to make it up to me by coming to a party with me. Derek invited me." 

Josie frowns a little at that, not a fan of parties in general. Hope must sense her unease, because she reaches over to Josie's free hand and begins to play with her fingers. 

Josie willingly gives up her hand and watches as Hope curls her fist up and touches the grooves over palm.

"Derek's one of the Zeta bros, right?" Lizzie had gone out with someone from one of the frats the college had. Zeta omega mu was one of the most well known. 

"Exactly! It's this Saturday and, since it's Halloween, costumes are required." 

She can feel her blood freeze at the idea of not only having to go to a party, but wear a costume as well. That was as close to torture as Josie could get. 

Hope eases her pain a little bit by touching up and down her arm and rubbing her nails gently on Josie's skin. 

"Lizzie, no. I really don't want to go to a costume party. Or any party in general."

"I don't think so Josette. You need to get laid and I refuse to have you waste your college years by working and studying without having any fun."

Josie's about to argue further, but Lizzie cuts her off again. Instead she sighs and leans forward to take another sip of her drink.

"So, come to the house right away and we are going to get you a costume that makes you look ravishing. You're going to look so drop dead gorgeous that strawberry shortcake wouldn't be able to hold back from taking you." 

Josie begins choking on her drink and coughs more and more. Hope is by her side rubbing small circles on her back to calm her down. "Are you okay, Josie?" 

She nods her head and drinks again to clear her throat, already semi back to normal. She really hopes that Hope didn't hear any of this. But with her luck, she probably did.

"Josie, who's that with you? Is that Hope? Oh my gosh! Bring her with you and we can all go costume shopping together." 

Fuck her life. This is the worst possible thing that could happen. Lizzie will no doubt force her to choose a slutty costume but make her model it for Hope as well. She’d die from the embarrassment. 

Josie leans her head down on the cool surface of the counter, groaning as she does. Hope runs more circles onto her back in comfort as she plucks the phone from her hand.

"This is Hope, we'll be back to your guy's apartment soon." 

Josie's head shoots up to look at Hope eyes wide. She can hear Lizzie's squeal of excitement from over the line, before she hangs up. 

"Hope!" Josie scolds, or at least tries too.

"What?” Hope asks. “Don't you want to get a cute costume? Your sister seemed excited."

Josie rolls her eyes and pushes against Hope's solid frame. The redhead may be small, but she’s built of pure muscle. 

"I'm going to make you pay for this later. And trust me, I won't be wearing a  _ cute costume _ for this party, I guarantee it." Josie does air quotes for emphasis, cringing internally as she remembers all the parties her sister forced her to dress up for growing up.

"Oh ya? What costume does your sister usually get you to wear for parties?" Hope leans forward and wiggles her eyebrows while looking Josie up and down. 

Deciding to toy with Hope a little bit, Josie moves her body so that Hope can see her long legs, "Well, imagine that this skirt is shorter." 

For emphasis she moves her hands to her thighs and drags the material up her legs further and further. Hope's eyes go wide, and Josie can barely see the blue from how big her pupils are. 

She stops moving the fabric until it rests high on her thighs, any further and she would be showing off her underwear. 

"And most of these buttons would be gone." She moves her hands to the buttons on her top and begins to undo them. 

Each button she does, Hope's eyes get darker, and her gaze turning even more lustful. Becoming the predator that Josie knows she is.

Josie keeps going until her bra is showing, she ties the bottom of her shirt up in a knot above her belly button, showing off the smooth skin of her stomach. 

Josie leans back so Hope can fully take in her appearance with so much skin on display. 

She leans forward so that she is almost touching Hope, "Lizzie usually chooses the most skimpy and revealing outfits that will fit me, showing off my body to anyone who wants to look." She lowers her eyes to Hope's lips before biting her own. 

The wolf seems to be in a daze, transfixed with staring at all the exposed skin on display. Hope licks her lips once, and then again, as if contemplating eating Josie right then and there.

Josie wouldn't be opposed to it. 

Hope clears her throat after staring deeply at Josie, looking away with a dark flush on her cheeks. Josie takes the time to fix her outfit so she's modest once again.

She feels insanely smug as she buttons her shirt and moves her skirt down her legs. 

"Come on, Hopey. We need to go. We’ve got some shopping we need to do." 

She winks at Hope before linking their hands together. A few seconds later they're out of the bar and off towards Josie's apartment.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it ! Next chapter things begin to reeeeeaaaalllly pick up 👀


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter!! Hope you enjoy 💙
> 
> Lol they were supposed to go to the party at the end of the chapter, but I had them flirt too long in this one

The closer Hope and Josie get to the apartment, the more she notices the anxiety Hope is carrying. 

They left the bar right after the phone call with Lizzie, and made their way into the street. Hope kept trying to move them through the shadows and alleyways but Josie steered her back into the sunlight.

The way Josie was taking them would be the fastest from where they were to where they’re going.

As the sun bares down on them, and more people come out in the chilly October air, Hope seems to sink further into herself with each passing second. Josie debates with herself before getting up the courage to grab Hope's hand, startling the wolf who had been deep in her own head.

Luckily, it seems to jar Hope enough to come back to Josie, who squeezed her hand as they continue down the road.

Hope looks over her shoulder again, which had to have been the sixth time in the last couple of minutes. Josie can practically feel Hopes’ anxiety coming off of her in waves. She wants to ask about it, to get Hope to confide in her and understand what's wrong, but she knows she has to be careful. The way Hope is acting is similar to Lizzie when she's about to have a panic attack. And that usually means acting like a cornered animal.

"How did you know the spell for changing the ID's?"

Hope shifts her sights back to Josie, her hand tensing before it relaxed again as she smiles. "My aunt taught me a long time ago."

She pauses for a moment before continuing. "Well, less taught me and more I eavesdropped when she was doing the spell and memorized the words."

Josie can feel that there's more to the story and has many questions. "Why did you want to memorize the spell if you're not a witch?"

Hopes’ tension comes back full force, her entire body going ridged. Josie can tell she forces herself to calm down after a few seconds as Hope just breathes.

"I’ve always been fascinated with magic and my aunt is an amazing teacher…" Hope trails off and uses her free hand to move a stray hair that fell into her face.

She looks over her shoulder again, still tense. More relaxed than she was, but still tense.

Josie wants to talk more, but Hope seems like she’s closed herself off from personal questions. They walk in silence until her apartment comes into sight but before they can get any closer Josie stops them and pulls Hope to the far edge of the sidewalk.

"Hope, are you okay?" Josie steps as close as she can, her body pressed against Hope's. She moves one hand to cup Hope's cheek while the other moves behind to play with the baby hairs on the back of Hope's neck.

The redhead closes her eyes and leans into Josie even more. The tension from before evaporating, leaving Hope pliant under Josie's touch. 

"Yeah Jo, I'm good." Hope leans into Josie's hand more and stares up at Josie with what she could only call adoration.

How is it only now Josie’s realizing she’s a head taller than Hope?

After a few moments of staring into each other's eyes, Hope gently tugs the hand on her cheek down to her mouth, kissing the palm in a gentle press of her lips.

Josie feels herself blush at the action, dropping her gaze from Hopes’. Pulling away from each other, they continue walking until they make it to the apartment foyer.

They go up the stairs quick as they can and Josie unlocks the door. Lizzie is sitting sprawled out on the couch on her phone.

"Oh good, Josie, you're here." She gets off the couch and walks over to the two. Lizzie stops walking as she takes in their hands, their fingers still laced together, and raises an eyebrow.

She doesn't actually say anything though before turning to give Hope a once over.

"Why do you look like a washed-up celebrity trying to hide from their crazed fans."

Josie gives her sister a glare. She was right though. That was exactly what she’d first thought when she looked at Hope's outfit.

The redhead shifts uncomfortably under her sister's gaze, but she doesn't hesitate to stare Lizzie down no matter how uncomfortable she looks.

"Lizzie, leave Hope alone. Are we going shopping?"

The stare down continues for a second longer until Lizzie just smirks and walks past Hope and Josie.

The brunette rolls her eyes at Lizzie's dramatics and is already worried about what's going to happen when they get to the costume shop.

The ride to the mall goes quicker than Josie thought it would, though it probably shouldn’t. Lizzie drove and she usually drives with little regard for the speed limit.

Josie, Lizzie and Jade all shared a car since they were lucky enough that the hospital, coffee shop, and university were all within walking distance of their home. The car was only ever used for further road trips to the mall or when they would inevitably need to drive back home for winter break.

While Jade worked clinicals at the hospital, racking up her hours as a nurse, on some weekends she also worked at the coffee shop with Josie. It gave the vampire little time to do anything else with her hectic schedule.

Even Lizzie had a job, tutoring students struggling with their math courses. Lizzie excelled in all the math courses she took and continues to grow further, from pre-calc to calculus, to even further. Though she doesn't ever mention how brilliant at math she is. It’s a "nerd thing" and Lizzie Saltzman was not a nerd. (she was, but she’d never admit it)

Lizzie pulls into an empty spot in the long parking lot that is half filled with dozens of cars. The costume store that Lizzie is taking them to is one of the many stores along the shortened strip mall. Clothing stores and some restaurants also line the way.

One store in particular catches her eye. A blush settles heavily on her face as she quickly looks away. Hope, who had gotten out of the car behind her watches, clearly saw Josie’s cheeks darken and turn to look for what had the girl so flustered.

A sex toy store sits proudly in bright colors and advertising in the display, ready to attract curious customers.

Hope smirks and leans over until her lips are right on Josie's ear.

"You wanna check it out?" Hope's voice is teasing as if she's making fun of Josie's blush.

Josie glares at Hope out of the corner of her eye, but before she can reply Lizzie is dragging both of them towards the costume store. 

"Enough chatter! We all need to get a costume." 

Hope stops looking at Josie as her expression drops. Both girls continue further after the blonde as she makes her way towards the store, already gaining distance in front of them. 

"What do you mean “we”? I don't need a costume for anything." Hope raises her voice so Lizzie could hear her across the small distance.

Lizzie stops and spins around dramatically.

"You're obviously going to be Josie's plus one to the party, get with the program Hope. No costume, no entrance." She whips back around and continues walking as if nothing happened, leaving both Josie and Hope to catch up. Both physically and mentally.

Hope eyes Josie, as if to ask “what just happened?” Josie only shrugs and follows after her sister, grabbing Hope's hand as she does.

The doorbell chime echoes in the surprisingly empty store. There are only a few people in the aisles and most of them are on the other side of the store. Halloween being less than a week away, Josie thought there would've been more people.

Lizzie immediately scans the aisles in search of…something. Josie knows her sister well enough to know she's on a mission, and that usually didn't mean anything good for Josie.

The search continues for another few minutes, as Hope and Josie halfheartedly look through the racks of costumes. Josie finds one of Red Riding Hood, and holds it teasingly against her body.

"Do you think this would look good on me?" she asks Hope, raising an eyebrow. The outfit is meant for children and would no doubt be too small.

Hope looks appraisingly at the outfit before her gaze falls to Josie, eyes trailing over the taller girls’ form.

"Hmm, if you were Little Red that would make me the Big Bad Wolf." Hope steps closer to Josie with an almost hungry look in her eyes. Josie takes a step back while putting the costume on the rack.

"Well, maybe you should be Little Red and I should be the Wolf." Hope narrows her eyes and takes another step forward. Josie takes another back.

"I don't think so, beautiful. Trust me, in this story I'm the Big Bad Wolf. And you're the damsel in need of saving." Hope takes another step forward, not finished. "Looking absolutely delicious. Just waiting to be ravished." Hope's eyes begin to shine gold, letting Josie know Hope's wolf isn't far away from coming out.

Josie looks around with a tinge of worry, afraid someone would see Hope's eyes. Even with the empty store, prying eyes could be everywhere. She steps forward rather than back so she's in Hope's personal space. She strokes the wolf's cheeks in a gentle caress of the skin.

"Hope. Come back to me."

She whispers the words so only Hope could hear. The other girl blinks once then twice, as her eyes turn back to the ocean blue Josie is accustom too. Hope smiles at her, a tinge of worry and regret sits on her face. Josie is quick to reassure her.

"Don't worry, I’m good." She leans down to press a quick kiss on Hope's forehead.

The simple gesture causes a blush to bloom beautifully across Hope's skin. As if the simple kiss set her entire face aflame. Josie smiles, satisfied with the reaction.

A scoff behind her makes her blood freeze. She had entirely forgotten Lizzie was in the store with them. She turns around to see her sister's arms crossed and a glare present in Lizzie's eyes.

"Can you two not control yourselves? This is a public place. You should take that sort of thing next door." Josie flushes at the memory of the sex toys on public display.

Lizzie rolls her eyes again before grabbing onto Josie's hand and pulls her through to the next aisle over. Josie grabs onto Hope, dragging her along for the ride.

Lizzie stops them one aisle up and continues her search with narrowed eyes and a diligence to find the perfect outfits.

"No. Not that one. Definitely not that." There's a pause and more ruffling of fabric. Josie stands off to the side and watches her sister move through the aisle and searches each and every costume on the racks.

Hope gives the various scraps of cloth a once over before pulling something out. Josie doesn't pay attention until Hope is holding something against Josie.

Josie looks down and blushes bright red at the slave princess Leia costume Hope holds. Hope has that dopey grin that Josie has come to love, but her cheeks are still burning.

"You could totally rock this." 

"Hope, I'm not wearing that." Josie pushes it away and looks over at her sister who is still looking through the other costumes, much farther ahead than before.

Hope's grin drops down a little bit before her lower lip comes out in a pout.

Josie holds herself back from releasing a squeal. Hope looks so adorable. Her lip juts out and a sad puppy frown makes its way onto her face to add to the adorableness. Josie doesn't even think Hope is aware of how cute she is right now.

"What if you just tried it on…?" Hope trails off while looking her up and down again hopefully.

Josie rolls her eyes at Hope's antics and pushes the hanger holding the costume firmly against the wolf's sturdy frame.

"There's like nothing there, you're just trying to see me practically naked." Josie scoffs. She misses the devilish look that makes its way to Hope's face.

The shorter girl steps forward until she's almost touching Josie's body, ready to lean up close. She lowers her voice into a thick drawl that has Josie clenching her thighs.

"Oh, trust me, Josette. If I wanted to see you practically naked, it wouldn't take much to convince you. You are practically an exhibitionist, aren’t you?"

Josie seethes a little as the rest of her face turns red with both anger and embarrassment. Hope's smirk deepens at the mischief she's already caused.

"I'm not an exhibitionist!" Josie yells it out loud, echoing across the half empty store. The few people that were there all look up at the outburst causing Josie to blush harder than ever and drop her eyes to her shoes.

Josie glares hard at the ground, and then at Hope when she hears the other girl’s muffled giggles.

"Hope, it's not funny!" she snaps, a little bit of a whine in her voice in a way she hopes will get her a little sympathy.

She wasn't holding her breath.

Instead, she turns away from Hope and folds her arms.

"Oh come on Jo, don't be mad at me." Josie doesn't reply and continues giving Hope the silent treatment.

"Josie, look at me?" Hope's voice is gentle and wheedling now, trying to coax Josie to turn around. Josie just turns her back further. She almost jumps when she feels Hope's hands on her hips and a body pressed against her back.

"Baby, you know I was only joking. I'm sorry." Hot breath touches her ear, causing her to shiver. 

Now, Josie can easily take a joke, and there is no part of her that is actually mad at Hope. But maybe she enjoys making Hope grovel just a little too much. 

_ Fuck. Lizzie is rubbing off on me. _

She turns around in Hope's arms so they're still pressed together, facing each other. 

"I don't know, I'm still feeling a little hurt." She adds a pout to her already full lips. She has to fight the grin threatening to spill on her face as Hope's eyes fall to her lips. 

"What can I do to make it up to you?" Hope still stares at Josie's lips, her voice honeyed into a low drawl. 

Grabbing an outfit she seen since they got to this aisle from the rack behind Hope, she pushes it into the redheads’ arms.

"Wear this for me?" 

Before Hope can even look at the package, Josie grabs onto the Leia costume.

"I'll try this on."

She pouts her lip just enough to help Hope decide.

Looking down at what Josie pushed into her hand she stops and looks back at Josie a single eyebrow raised. 

Wordlessly she grabs Josie's free hand and takes her to a changing stall. 

Now, Josie may not have thought this all the way through. In the two seconds she had to actually think she had assumed Hope and her would get separate stalls and then show each other the silly costumes.

Not change in the same one.

Hope places the outfits on the hooks and looks at Josie with full blue eyes. She raises a single eyebrow and smirks before taking off her shirt while maintaining eye contact with Josie.

A new blush burns across her face and goes even lower to her chest as she sees Hope uncovered. This is the first time she's seen this much of Hopes’ skin since that first night when she burned off Hope's shirt.

She swallows hard and looks away when Hope unbuckles her belt and begins to slowly lower her Jean's.

"You okay, cutie? Aren't you going to change?"

Hope's voice is deceptively innocent, but Josie can see the smug little smirk resting on the redhead's face. Not one to be shown up, Josie practically rips off her shirt and skirt letting the fabric hit the floor.

Finally she’s left barely covered and holding a few scraps of costume which are barely enough to be considered an outfit.

The Slave princess Leia costume consists of one bra-like thing to cover her breasts, and nothing else on top, keeping her midriff exposed. The bottom portion consists of a red skirt-ish thing with two long slits down the side that show all the way to her hip bone. There's also some fancy gold chains to help complete the look.

Hope is looking at her costume as well, and has already begun to put it on so Josie begins as well.

Realizing how small the bra thing actually is, Josie realizes she’ll have to take off the bra she's wearing for it to look right. She curses her luck and turns her back to Hope.

Slipping off her bra and letting it hit the ground as well, Josie begins to wrestle the costume on.

Hope is oddly quiet during the whole exchange. Josie expected a flirty comment or two from her, but not a word.

Once the outfit is on, Josie turns to look in the mirror. She stops mid turn when she sees the outfit Hope has on.

Josie has to stop herself from ogling the other girl harder as she takes in her appearance. The outfit Josie had grabbed was a cop costume… a sexy cop costume.

Well, it hadn't been inherently sexy, but the way it fit on Hope…

The black shorts were high on Hope's thighs, and the white button shirt strained against Hope's breasts. The little police cap sat on Hope's head as Josies’ gaze made its way up Hope's body. They stared at each other for a second before Hope's eyes began to glow once again.

"Wow. You look amazing." Hope's voice is deep and gruff in a way that Josie loves.

Feeling overly confident from how Hope is looking at her, Josie struts herself over to the mirror to see herself fully.

If she had thought the outfit would be scandalous on her before, she had guessed nowhere near the way it actually was. So much of her skin is exposed to the air and to Hope's gaze that she couldn't imagine actually wearing this out in public. She has to be careful not to move too fast or her panties would show.

She turns her attention back to Hope and grins at Hope clearly staring at her legs as they're uncovered with each movement of her “skirt”. She puts a pout on her lips and moves so she's almost pressed against Hope's body.

"Officer, may I go home now, I promise I'll be good." Hope narrows her eyes and releases a low growl.

"I don't think so, miss. How do I know you're going to be good?" Hope moves behind her so her front is pushed against Josie's bare back.

She leans over and grabs Josie's hands and pulls them back behind her, she hears a click sound and feels the plastic material on her wrists as she moves.

Josie releases a short laugh as Hope cuffs her hands together. Hope moves to the front of her so Josie can see as she lips the keys down her bra, Josie's eyes following the motion and continues further, staring at the swell of Hope's breast as they push against the tight fabric.

"You know these are fake handcuffs, right? I can easily get out of these. They even have a release on the side."

A dangerous look passes in Hope's eyes. "But you're not going too, you're going to keep them on because I said so."

Josie can feel her heart pick up speed, pounding against her rib cage in a wild rhythm. 

"Oh? And how can you be so sure." She swallows hard as Hope's eyes narrow further and she moves forward, pushing Josie back against the wall.

_ "Because you want to be my good girl." _

If anyone else had said those words, Josie would have rolled her eyes. But the fact that Hope was the one to say them made heat coil in her stomach.

An intense blush makes its way to her cheeks and her eyes squeeze shut tight. She can't bare the idea of looking Hope in the eyes right now. She's terrified to get turned on now, knowing that Hope will be able to easily smell the air and notice. Especially with how little covering she has on.

Hope places a delicate hand on Josie's stomach, drawing a pattern on her exposed midriff.

"Josie? Are you in there?" Lizzies voice sounds directly outside the changing room door, startling both Josie and Hope.

Both girls stare at each other in nothing short of panic. Neither are dressed in appropriate clothes, and Josie's sister is on the other side of the only door.

Josie knows Lizzie too well to know that her sister would definitely break down the changing room door if she needed too.

She clears her throat to speak.

"Yeah, Liz, I'm in here." Her voice still comes out low and husky.

"Come out, I have the perfect outfit for you." As her sister speaks, Josie looks over at Hope and sees mischief dance in her eyes.

Josie sends her a warning look, but Hope's hand makes its way to her stomach again and touches the sensitive skin on display. 

She bites her lip to stop a laugh from escaping from her throat. Her hands are still handcuffed behind her. She kicks Hope in the leg and sends her another look in warning.

"Just put it on the doorknob, and I'll grab it in a second. I'm changing right now." She swallows another giggle as Hope continues her light tickling.

Her blood runs cold as she hears her sisters answering scoff. "It's not like we haven't changed in front of each other, Jo. Just let me in. Have you seen Hope? She's not out here either."

Another second passes where no one does a thing, Josie's heart keeps pounding in what feels like it'll be out of her chest. Hope looks back to her with a barely concealed smirk.

She comes behind her and leans over to Josie pressing her lips to Josie's neck, causing her to inhale sharply.

She shoots Hope a warning look through the mirror and delights in the way the golden eyes look back at her. Hope looks at her like she is ready to devour her.

"J-just leave it there Lizzie, I'm practically naked. And I'm sure Hope is probably just trying on an outfit."

A beat passes and another press of Hope's lips to her neck.

"Josette! She better not be in there with you!" Lizzie practically screeches. Josie closes her eyes as a groan leaves her lips as Hope presses harder. She was rapidly losing the brain capacity to continue this conversation with the way Hope's was touching her.

As Hope kisses her neck, her hands also make their way up Josie's sides.

"She's not Liz. Just go away, okay? I'll be done in a few minutes." She hears Lizzie huff before walking off with loud footsteps. Josie sighs loudly in relief. It's short lived as Hope continues to tease her with her lips.

A small bite to her neck causes Josie to moan, a low sound that she can't stop.

"H-hope." She sounds needy to her own ears and sees Hope's eyes flash again. A growl passes through Hope's throat that vibrates against Josie.

If Hope couldn't smell her arousal already, she would definitely be able to now. She's been able to feel how soaked she was since Hope had called her a good girl.

"Hope. Take off the handcuffs." She swallows hard and closes her eyes tight.

"Why don't you take them off, Josette? It's like you said, they even have the release on the side."

Josie swallows hard and shakes her head, eyes still closed. "Hope…" she can only get out the redhead's name, especially when she feels another small bite on her neck.

"Is it because I told you not too? Is it because you know you're  _ my good girl?" _

Hope bites down one last time, harder than the rest causing Josie to gasp loudly into the small space of the changing room. Her eyes fly open and look towards Hope through the mirror.

Her gasp seems to have caused Hope to realize what she had been doing as she pulls away from Josie's neck which has a now reddened spot. There's a dazed look in Hope's eyes, which are now blue again, as if she doesn't realize what she had just been doing.

Without another word, she reaches over and undoes the handcuffs for Josie. When they are off, she sends a small apologetic smile Josie's way.

Josie only smiles back and leans to hug Hope, hoping to ease the guilt that shines through her eyes.

She breathes deeply into Hope's hair when there's a small press of lips onto her neck where Hopes’ bite still throbs.

\---

Josie quickly changes out of the Leia costume, and tries her sisters’ choice. First, she kicked Hope out since it was obvious she wouldn't get anything done with her in there.

Lizzie scolded her for taking so long while at the same time making approving noises at the outfit she’d picked out.

Lizzie had also found a costume for Hope which she forced the wolf to at least try on as well.

Josie is almost positive her sister is trying to play matchmaker with her and Hope and doesn't know how she feels about that. At least she hasn't tried to do anything embarrassing to Josie…

Yet.

They paid for the costumes quickly and were about to head home until Lizzie stops them.

"We should go in there." she says, pointing at the display of dildos and vibrators in the window's very familiar pink and black shop.

Josie sends Lizzie a look which is returned by a seemingly innocent smile.

"Why would we want to go there…" Josie trails off and gives the brightly lit store an apprehensive look. She didn't know what Lizzie was planning, but whatever it was, she didn't like it.

Her sister pauses before giving her a thinly veiled smirk.

"I need some new handcuffs." She winks at Hope, causing a red blush to form on Hope's cheeks. Josie loves the red that she sees but hates that Lizzie's the cause of it.

Without further ado, they all walk over to the store in question. The bell, a real bell this time hung over the door, chimes as they push inside.

The store is typical of what you would expect when visiting a sex toy store, but it still catches Josie off guard.

It’s been years since she’d set foot in a place like this and last time was when Lizzie and she had been sixteen and had to use fake ID's.

They’d been buzzing with nervous energy, excited and nervous to be there and paid for two vibrators with cash so their father couldn't track their cards.

There's only one man working behind the counter looking at a magazine Josie probably didn't want to know the contents of. He waved at them before turning his attention to the pages, not bothering for any more of a greeting.

Lizzie walks off almost as soon as they set foot in the place, heading over to the far side where, presumably, she’d find the handcuffs.

Something seems to catch Hope's attention as she slowly walks down one of the aisles.

The two of them make their way through each aisle and look slowly, once they reach the end of the many shelves, they circle back around to look again.

One area that's all dildos catches Josie's attention. It’ s got all different shapes and sizes, but what really interests her is the strap-ons that sit proudly on their shelves. She tries to keep her attention scattered but she can tell Hope is watching her after she keeps coming back to that one area.

Josie could only imagine the fun her and Hope could have with something like that and she swallows and looks away as her imagination takes over.

Hope behind her, thrusting deep. In front of her, holding her hands down so all she can do is feel. Josie on top of Hope, riding the strap…

She shakes her head and pushes her attention away from the wall as a deep heat takes over her cheeks. 

She should have been more careful with her gaze, because Hope doesn't let her get too far away. Hands gently meet the curve of her hips and pull her back so that Hope is pressed against her.

"See something you like?" Josie casts her eyes to the floor even though Hope can't see her face and bites her lip.

"N-no." She curses herself for the stutter. The redhead pushes herself closer to Josie and leans up so her lips are just grazing her neck. She can feel the lips tilt up into a smirk from behind her.

"Are you sure?"

Josie's positive Hope is teasing her now and twists her body around so she can stare into Hope's eyes. Once turned around, she leans forward to graze Hope's ear with her lips. 

"Maybe I  _ did _ see something I like."

Hope's eyes burn a deep gold again that Josie always loved to see. But they were still in public. She glances over to the counter where the man is looking at his magazine, a small wave of fear washes over her if he sees the glowing eyes.

Josie grabs Hope's face and pulls her to Josie, leans down and presses their foreheads together. Their lips are an inch away from touching.

She keeps her hands in front of Hope's eyes which have fallen shut, so no one can see the glow.

In her rush to hide Hope, Josie had pushed the redhead against the wall of dildos and strap-ons, their bodies pressed together.

"Hey! This isn’t a hookup spot. Take that kind of thing outside!"

Josie looks up startled at the person behind the counters’ outburst. Hope growls low so only Josie can hear her. Afraid that the guy will see Hopes’ eyes, Josie grabs Hope's head and shoves it between her breasts, hiding her and silencing her at the same time.

"I'm so sorry, she gets a little too excited at times." Josie sends a sweet smile to the man, earning her another growl from Hope.

She pushes Hope further into her boobs to silence the growling. The man behind the counter grunts in affirmation and moves his attention back to the magazine.

She releases a sigh of relief at not being caught, which is short-lived when Hope's hands move to the curve of her ass and squeeze.

Her squeak is met with a low rumbling of laughter coming from the redhead. She glares down at the wolf and is met with crystal blue. Luckily, Hope had gotten her wolf under control.

Josie grabs Hope's hands and moves them up higher to her hips. Hope gives her a teasing smile and starts to move them lower.

"You're going to get us kicked out." Josie whispers it into Hope's ear as the other girl pulls away with a wink.

Lizzie seems to be almost ready, so Josie goes to stand by her but is stopped by Hope's hand.

"One sec, I'm going to grab something."

That something turns out to be the strap on Josie had been staring at earlier. She definitely wasn’t as subtle as she thought she had been and burns at the thought of Hope getting it.

"You never know when one might come in handy." She eyes Josie up and down before moving to the counter and checking out.

As they are leaving, Josie looks over at Lizzie who also holds a black bag in her hand, holding something that Josie probably doesn't want to know about. The less she knows about her sisters’ sex life, the better.

Lizzie looks down at the bag in Hope's hand then looks at Hope, then the bag again then at Josie, a satisfied smirk on her face.

The drive home after that is faster than Josie wished it would have been. With the winter months nearing, the sun had started setting even earlier. Another hour or so and it would be dark out.

"That was a fun trip." Lizzie begins as they all exit the car. Josie had only feared for her life twice during the twenty-minute drive. She'd say Lizzie is almost improving in her driving.

"It was, thank you for inviting me." is Hopes’ quiet reply. Josie looks over and moves closer to her so she can squeeze her hand.

"Of course. I'm really glad you came, Hope." Lizzie unlocks the door to their apartment and all three step in.

Hope squeezes back and smiles, looking shy all of a sudden. Once they pull away from each other, Hope glances at the clock and her eyes widen.

"Shit. I have to go." She looks towards Josie, "I had an amazing time today… Again? Soon?"

"Yes, I'd love too. I'll see you tomorrow for our regularly scheduled meet up?"

"Perfect. I really have to go."

Hope seems hesitant to leave, but after a moment she starts to move, not before  l eaning over and kissing Josie's cheek. Both girls freeze entirely once they realize what Hope did. Josie can feel the tingle of warmth from where Hope's lips touched. So close to her lips and yet not close enough.

Hope waves goodbye and practically runs out the door, a blush sitting on her face almost as red as her hair.

Josie doesn't move but just continues to watch Hope as she sprints away until she's out of sight. Her hand comes up to her cheek and touches it once again in awe.

"Wow. That was so gay."

Josie is startled from her reservoir and jumps, looking back over to Lizzie.

"What? No. That wasn't gay… That was just… a friendly platonic kiss…"

Lizzie sends her sister a look of such total disbelief Josie knew she’d been about as convincing as a flat-earther.

"Shut up Lizzie. Don't make a big deal out of it."

Josie moves so her sister can't see the heat rapidly suffusing her face which is still burning from the small kiss.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the party, and it's going to be a turning point more or less for the story 👀
> 
> Hope you liked it!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter!!! sorry for the wait, but it's a long one to make up for it ;) 
> 
> Lol there was supposed to be a lap dance this chapter, but my beta and I both agreed it fit better further on, so you have that to look forward to in say 4ish chapters 
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy!!

  
  


“What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never been able to?” 

Hope and Josie find themselves sitting on the floor with their backs pressed against two washing machines and sitting with their sides squished up against the other.

Hope is quiet as she thinks of an answer. Josie and Hope had been trading questions back and forth, talking about anything and everything.

“I’d go to college.” The answer may have seemed straightforward, but Josie could hear the melancholy in Hope’s voice that radiated sadness.

She sits up more so she can turn towards Hope, taking the redhead’s hand in hers.

“Why can’t you go to college now?” Hope looks away at the question, uncertainty apparent on her face.

She takes her time answering, her face scrunched up in thought. Josie would have found it cute if it weren’t for the fact Hope was clearly keeping something from her.

“Josie…” Hope started, “There are some things about me I hope you never find out.”

_ Well fuck. That’s super ominous. _

Josie holds tightly onto Hope’s hand and refuses to let go, squeezing once and then twice in reassurance. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to Hope, but just know you’re not going to scare me away.”

Hope looks away from Josie’s intense gaze, looking down at their interlocked hands. “I moved around a lot as a kid, never stayed in one place for longer than a few months.” Josie wants to ask more about Hope’s previous statement but pushes forward at the change in subject.

“Where did you go to school?”

“I was homeschooled,” Hope says as she strokes Josie’s hand back and forth.

Feeling that the conversation is too tense for Hope, Josie tries to tease a little. “Oooh, that definitely explains the staring.” 

“What?” Hope, who had not been expecting that, is brought out of her thoughts and looks at Josie with confusion in her eyes. 

Josie’s smirk is filled with mischief. “The staring. You know you can’t keep your eyes off me. It makes sense since you weren’t taught that, usually, it’s rude to stare.” 

Hope scoffs and looks almost offended at Josie’s statement. “I’ll have you know that I was raised by the most sophisticated people. I do not stare.” 

Josie raises an eyebrow at the challenge. “Oh? You don’t?” 

Her hands are already on the buttons of her blouse, the top few buttons undone slowly and steadily. She doesn’t know where this wave of courage came from, but the blush on Hope’s cheeks makes it worth it.

“Are you absolutely positive you don’t stare?”

Hope fights hard against drinking in the sight of her bra-clad boobs, but eventually, when Josie leans forward and pushes her breasts together, Hope looks down. Josie bites her lip and tries not to let her smirk get too wide.

Her victory doesn’t last long as Hope returns her smirk and lets her stare intensify into nothing short of lust-filled hunger. “Okay, my turn cutie. What’s the kinkiest thing you’ve ever wanted to do?”

Josie can feel her entire face turn redder and redder, Hope chuckling at her side. She feels her skin heat and looks away, unable to keep meeting Hope’s eyes. When that doesn’t soothe her embarrassment, she covers her face and shakes her head. The change in topic made her stomach flip and flop, the mere idea of telling Hope even one of her kinks making her blush harder than she ever had in her life.

“Come on, Jo, you’ve got to answer.” Hope begins, her smile growing even wider. Josie shakes her head and groans slightly.

She has an answer, but telling Hope will mean hearing unending teasing for the rest of her life and she doesn’t know if her poor body could handle it. A whimper leaves her mouth that sounds nothing short of pathetic, but it only sparks more mischief in Hope’s eyes, hard as that is to believe.

For her part, Hope doesn’t tease her anymore for the red on her face, knowing Josie could only take so much teasing before she shuts down.

Josie opens her mouth and mumbles a few words that even Hope’s supernatural wolf hearing couldn’t pick up.

“I’m sorry Jo, can you repeat that?” She’s still being toyed with, the lilt in Hope’s voice all but stating the fact plain as day. And she doesn’t appreciate it one bit.

“I want to almost get caught.” The words are out in the air and nothing but silence follows them as Hope digests the sentence.

Josie covers her mouth again and squeezes her eyes shut. She hates how flushed and hot she feels while a wave of heat hits her low in the stomach.

She wasn’t an exhibitionist, damn it! No matter what anyone says…

But the idea of Hope fucking her where others could see… Or hear… That turned her on like nothing else. The thought that someone could see and hear how needy she was, could see how Hope was in control.

Josie opens her eyes and looks over at Hope. Her lack of response for so long is surprising but makes sense when Josie sees Hope’s eyes squeezed shut tight, as if she’s trying to regain control herself.

Hope opens her eyes and looks at Josie with pure golden light, staring intensely into Josie’s brown and telegraphing just how intensely Josie’s kink affected her. She looks every bit the predator Josie knows she is, and it makes Josie clench her thighs together.

“You really are an exhibitionist, aren’t you, Josette?”

Suddenly she’s being moved. Not metaphorically, Hope’s literally moving her; grabbing her by the hips and hoisting her up so she’s sitting in Hope’s lap. She releases a gasp at the movement and evidence of how strong Hope is.

“You like the idea of being fucked? Of being taken right where someone could walk in? Someone seeing how truly needy and desperate you are?” Hope growls and pulls Josie closer, her hands lowering until they’re holding Josie’s ass cheeks and squeezing.

Another gasp tumbles out of her throat that seems to make Hope’s eyes glimmer an even more intense gold. “You trying to hold those delicious moans of yours, whimpering for just a little more to push you over the edge?”

Josie squeezes her eyes shut and reaches out her hands to Hope’s head, tangling her fingers in her hair.

She would have gladly let Hope have her way with her right then and there, gladly would have let Hope kiss her and devour her. But it seems the world is against her and Hope indulging her fantasies because, just as Hope leans into Josie’s lips, the dryer beeps loudly.

  
  


\---

  
  


Almost a week later Josie still hasn’t recovered from the almost make-out session. With the moment ruined, Hope had reverted back to just teasing Josie about her kink as she gathered their clothes and walked Josie home.

They haven’t actually seen each other since that night, but they have been texting and calling for the past week. And it should be noted that hearing Hope’s voice hasn’t helped the dreams she’s been having, which had only gotten even more graphic since that night.

The party is later tonight and Lizzie seems to be positively buzzing with energy, excited to dance and drink the night away with cute boys. Josie, on the other hand, is looking forward to seeing what Hope is going to wear. Lizzie has been purposefully vague about what she chose for Hope, and it makes Josie all the more curious.

_ At least she’ll look hot. _

That was without question. Hope could come dressed as Shrek or wearing a paper bag over her head and she’d still be the most beautiful person in the room.

Josie’s much more nervous about the costume that Lizzie picked out for her. It was, thankfully, somewhat more modest than she had expected given her sister, but it still was more scandalous than not.

Josie walks out into the living room, where Jade scrambles about the room, snatching her things from their various corners and stuffing them into pockets. She’s dressed in her usual nursing scrubs, but this time there’s an additional cat-ear headband to complete the look.

“Hey Jade, heading to work?” Josie says, walking over to the other girl. Jade wraps Josie up into a tight hug and kisses the top of her head before heading over to the refrigerator.

“Unfortunately. It seems that all college students become mindless dumbasses on holidays who think a person can just shove things into their asses and expect everything to be okay afterward!” Jade grabs a bag of blood and pours it into a mug before putting it into the microwave warming it up.

“Well, I mean anything CAN be a dildo if you’re brave enough,” Josie replies unhelpfully. Jade gives her an unamused glare and rolls her eyes.

“Not when you can’t get said object out and have to be driven to the emergency room for nurses who are not paid enough to get the damned thing out. Or possibly have to have an operation to have the thing removed!”

The microwave beeps signaling that Jade’s blood is done. Josie stands up, walks over to the vampire and hugs her tightly from behind, resting her chin on Jade’s shoulder as the other girl pours her blood.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I can only imagine the fun you’ll have tonight now that it’s Halloween.”

Jade turns in her arms and hugs Josie correctly this time. “Thank you. I’ll be fine. At least you and Liz will have fun. Lizzie with her party and you with your sexy wolf.”

Josie can feel her cheeks redden at the thought of Hope. She looks away quickly hoping Jade doesn’t catch it.

“You’ll especially have fun with that hot costume of yours. Hope won’t be able to keep her hands off of you.” Josie bites her lip at the thought, her eyes glaze over when her mind trails to all the things she wants Hope to do to her.

“And that’s my cue to leave. You’ve got that look in your eyes that basically screams you’re thinking dirty thoughts.” That jerks Josie out of her thoughts and her cheeks darken several more shades at the teasing lilt in Jade’s voice. With one last kiss on the head from Jade, she leaves Josie to her thoughts.

Josie groans loudly as her now aroused body makes its complaints. The party was both too soon and not soon enough.

  
  


\---

  
  


The party comes quickly. Quicker than she thought or was prepared for. Lizzie had forced her to start getting ready hours before the party actually started. At first Josie thought her sister was crazy(er than usual) making her start getting ready so early, but by the time they finished showering, changing, putting on their makeup and talking, it was almost time.

Josie began to pace the room back and forth, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. The purple dress she wore fluttered about her knees.

Lizzie had chosen a Rapunzel costume for Josie. A sexy Rapunzel costume. The purple dress was far from modest as it fell to mid-thigh, and her bust was thrust out by the lace corset she was wearing underneath. Her hair was done in a long braid that fell down below her waistline with long extensions her sister had delicately put into her hair.

She definitely looked hot. Lizzie had outdone herself with the costume choice and Rapunzel was her favorite princess. She just hoped that Hope would like it.

“You’re giving me twin anxiety. She’s going to love it. Stop pacing.” Lizzie laid sprawled out on the couch dressed as a fifty’s actress. Her midriff was exposed to the world and her hair done up in an intricate style. She’d placed sunglasses over her eyes too, even though they’re indoors and the sun set over an hour ago.

“I know. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” Josie tries to stop her pacing, takes a deep breath, moves to the couch and sits next to Lizzie.

“Because you know that if tonight goes well, that redheaded minx is going to keep you up all night.” Lizzie doesn’t even look at her sister as she says this. Her words cause Josie to turn a deep red.

“Lizzie!” She covers her face trying to stop the blush that has overtaken it.

“What, am I wrong? I’ve already put a spell on your room and my room. That’s if I make it back here tonight; Derek doesn’t have a roommate. Though I’m sure Jade will appreciate the spell so the sound of you and Hope boinking like bunnies doesn’t assault her delicate ears.”

“Lizzie stop,” Josie squirmed in her seat. “I-I’m not going to screw Hope tonight.” She still blushes even deeper at the thought as she looks away. Lizzie sits up and moves the sunglasses down her nose so she can look Josie in the eyes.

“You sure about that?” As if on cue, there’s a knock on the door, signaling that Hope has arrived.

“I’ll get it!” Willing to do anything to get out of this conversation, Josie launches herself and walks to the door before Lizzie can say anything else. Also before she could think about what she might see on the other side of that knocking.

When she opens the door her mouth drops open at the sight before her. Hope is leaning against the wall, dressed in something only Josie’s fantasies could have come up with.

Hope is wearing a Flynn Rider costume and it looks dashing as hell.

Her hair is slicked back ever so slightly. It reminds her of a lion’s mane or Leonardo DiCaprio when he was in Titanic. The vest she wears hangs open, showing the white button up shirt that rests beneath. The top three buttons are undone and show a large amount of Hope’s cleavage, which causes Josie to look down for an inappropriately long time.

When she realizes she hasn’t said anything and has been openly ogling Hope she rushes to apologize, but Hope is staring at her breasts too, with a look of intense hunger in her eyes.

When Hope snaps out of it and looks up to Josie, she feels no shame at being caught staring, but gives Josie a smug smile.

“Wow. You look amazing, Princess.”

Josie flushes red at the words. No one has ever called her “princess” before.

It  _ might _ have been a major turn-on to hear Hope call her that.

“T-thanks, you look amazing too.” They stare into each other's eyes for an ungodly amount of time ‘till both of their gazes shift to staring at the other’s costume.

“Please stop with the awkward flirting. My eyes and ears can’t take it anymore. ” Lizzie yells towards the door, still sprawled out on the couch. “There’s a soundproofing spell in Josie’s room, go eye-fuck in there.”

Josie flushes again and reaches to grab Hope’s hand, but then she notices that Hope is also wearing suspenders to hold the tight brown pants in place. She uses all of her strength to keep from passing out as she leans forward and pulls Hope to her by the straps.

Hope must not expect it, because she comes stumbling forward and ends up flush against Josie’s body.

“Hey.” Hope grins at her in a dopey way that’s still unfairly hot, and makes no move to pull herself away from Josie. She smiles back and feels an undeniable warmth in her stomach. A warmth that only grows when Hope leans forward and kisses the tip of Josie’s nose.

Her cheeks darken, as do Hope’s, but Josie doesn’t look away. She keeps the eye contact before leaning forward as well and placing a delicate kiss on Hope’s cheek, right next to her lips.

She pulls away and watches as Hope’s face blush even darker, her pale features making it easy to see the flush present, and Josie can’t deny the thrill that gives her.

“If you two are done, can we go now please?”

And just like that, their bubble is popped, and reality comes back to them. Josie doesn’t really want to go to the party, she would much rather stay here with Hope and see what else Hope has under her costume vest. But, alas, Lizzie would kill her if she even suggested something like that.

  
  


\---

  
  


By the time they get to the party, it’s already in full swing. It seemed like many people had pregamed. Josie watches and follows her sister inward, trying to avoid the many college boys running rampant through the crowd, shouting their heads off.

When she looks back, she sees Hope looking uncomfortable with all the people around and reaches back to link their hands together. She sends Hope a questioning look with an ‘are you okay’ written all over her face. Hope gives her a tight smile and squeezes her hand once, not reassuring Josie at all.

Afraid of losing Lizzie in the crowd, Josie keeps her and Hope walking forward so her sister’s blonde head remains in sight. They make it into the kitchen area where giant containers of some sort of alcohol reside. Lizzie grabs three cups and begins to pour.

Josie generally doesn’t like alcohol, so the mere thought of putting this concoction in her body doesn’t feel like the smartest idea. Nevertheless, Lizzie hands both her and Hope a cup filled with the mysterious green brew.

“Bottoms up” is all Lizzie says as they start to drink.

Feeling the intense burn that makes its way down her throat, Josie tries to not cough. She was never a party girl like Lizzie, but she can appreciate the warmth as the alcohol makes its way to her stomach and heats her up.

Josie only finishes half her drink by the time Lizzie is leaning close to her

“I’m going to find Derek, are you two okay?” She sends a pointed look to Hope and looks back to Josie with her eyebrow raised in question. “Yeah. Go ahead. We’ll be okay.” Lizzie nods and disappears. Josie turns her full attention to Hope who is watching her intensely.

Josie turns her attention back to her drink. She gulps down the rest of it in one go, grimacing at the taste and burn. Hope matches her, finishing her drink as well. They throw their cups into the nearby trash can, which is somehow already half full. Josie opens her mouth to ask Hope a question but sees the redhead looking around at the crowd, looking more uncomfortable than ever.

“Hey, you okay?” She pushes herself closer to Hope so their shoulders brush together. Josie grabs on to the suspenders and pulls Hope into her side, bringing one hand up to the back of Hope’s neck, playing with the baby hairs there.

Hope’s eyes flutter shut, and she lets out a sigh, leaning closer to Josie’s touch.

“Do you wanna dance?” Hope opens her eyes slowly at the question, her eyes glazed over as Josie continues the gentle touching. Once she nods her head, they both make their way through the crowd to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the frat house living room.

Hope still seems uncomfortable as they start to move to the music, the throng of people crowding around pushing them both closer together. Josie tries to bring Hope out of her head, swaying her hips and reaching out to take hold of those straps again.

Josie is kind of in love with the suspenders Hope has on. She’s able to pull Hope by the straps so their bodies mold together. They get lost in the music, slowly gravitating to each other in a slow pull. Hope leans up and presses her lips to Josie skin as Josie bends her neck back to allow more room for Hope. Her mind flashes back to the strange fangs Hope has, and can’t stop herself from thinking of Hope biting her. She can barely contain the moan that threatens to leave her mouth at the thought.

Josie is jerked from her musings when someone almost falls on top of her, Hope’s quick reflexes save her by pulling her even closer. They’re so close together that Josie can feel Hope’s breath touch her cheek.

Her throat feels very dry all of a sudden, and a desperate need for something to drink comes to mind.

“Can I get you another drink?” Hope nods her head and keeps her eyes trained on Josie’s moving form as she makes her way to the kitchen.

As she makes her way over, she can’t help but look back at Hope, who honestly seems out of place. Like she wants to be lurking on the sidelines, her hair puffy from the humidity, making it more like a mane. Her eyes never leave Josie’s.

She sees Lizzie near the drinks as well, downing another cup of whatever the concoction of alcohol is.

“Hey Jo, don’t you think it’s a little strange that short, red and lurky is well lurking?” Josie frowns, Lizzie’s voice is slurring a little, probably from the alcohol she’s already had.

“What do you mean?” Josie asks, confusion apparent in her voice.

“I know you like her, but she seems to enjoy watching you a bit too much.” The blonde trails off as both twins simultaneously turn their heads to look at Hope. The redhead across the room is watching and still hasn’t taken her eyes off of Josie. “See! She’s lurking and watching you like she’s planning on eating you.”

Josie scrunches her nose up. “She doesn’t lurk, and besides I don’t mind her watching me.”

Josie loses focus for a second as she remembers how good it felt having Hope’s eyes on her. A blush begins to rise onto her cheeks again, but she can blame it on the heat of the crowd.

Lizzie groans loudly and rolls her eyes. “I forgot that you’re basically an exhibitionist. Forget what I said Jo, you two are a perfect pair. She’s the voyeur to your exhibitionist.”

“Lizzie! I am not an exhibitionist!”

Red continues to make her way to her cheeks as she realizes she said that a bit too loud. Her eyes glance over to Hope, who has a smug smirk on her face. All hope that the redhead wasn’t listening in to her conversation vanishes. She is definitely going to be teased for this. Even across the room and with dozens of people crammed into a small space, apparently Hope’s hearing surpasses all others. Lizzie rolls her eyes and says a quick goodbye to Josie before making her way back into the crowd.

Josie turns back to finding drinks for both her and Hope, choosing to get something from the fridge instead of the green brew on the counter. She’s hoping for something non-alcohol-related and is delighted at finding cans of soda, choosing to pour that into her cup instead.

She does the same for Hope’s drink, unsure if the redhead wants alcohol or not and makes her way back to where Hope stands. The crowd of people on the dance floor had thankfully thinned since Josie was gone, and she can, at least, hear Hope talk when she says “thank you”.

They continue to sip on their soda’s, progressively moving closer together again. The cup in her hand prevents her from touching Hope just yet, but Josie decides she’s done drinking and wants Hope pressed against her. Hope looks over her shoulder and freezes before she can make a move, her entire body coming to a complete stop.

Hope is standing stock still, her eyes locked on something across the room from her and all the color had leached from her face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Josie leans in close to ask, but Hope doesn’t answer, worrying her more. She looks behind her to see what Hope is looking at but can’t tell with the dozens of people crowded around.

Deciding that something is definitely wrong, Josie grabs Hope’s hand and leads her outside to the backyard.

Outside is quieter, the music still blaring loudly but with less people. There’s fairy lights set up to help see and a ping pong table set up for beer pong. Josie moves them closer to that, a small crowd has formed around the two players currently going at it, halfway done with their game.

“Are you okay?” Josie asks again, but Hope still is quiet, looking over her shoulder with her body tense.

Josie remembers Hope looking like this when they had left the bar and walked home through the brightly lit streets, always on guard and ready for…something.

“Hey, baby, talk to me.” Josie presses Hope against a wall, using her body to cover Hope’s. As she speaks she moves her hands to Hope’s cheek and one behind her neck, playing with the baby hairs there. Hope closes her eyes slowly, reveling in the pet name and the gentle contact.

“I’m okay now, I promise.” Hope smiles softly and leans her head further into Josie’s hand, both openly enjoying the closeness.

Their moment is interrupted by loud cheering from the beer pong side of the yard as one of the players achieved victory.

Hope, as if to prove she is okay, gives Josie a teasing smile. “Care to play a round of beer pong with me?”

Josie glares at the cocky smirk and presses her nose to Hope’s, “Oh, but I don’t think you could handle me kicking your ass. Though your ego does need to be taken down a notch.” 

Josie gives a cocky smile of her own, ready to show Hope up. She might not be a party girl, but she is definitely a pro at beer pong.

“I guess we shall see Josette.”

They make their way over to the table, just as one of the Frat boys sets up the game again, asking for volunteers. Josie quickly raises her hand to get the boy's attention.

“You are so going down, Hope.” Josie by no means feels amazing about her chances of winning. Hope probably hadn’t even played beer pong before, but she’s a wolf with magic enhanced reflexes and Josie is a witch with a streak of clumsiness most humans don’t have to put up with. Hope smirks at her, looking her up and down once before speaking, she moves even closer to Josie as she does. “Oh? Care for a little wager?”

The crowd around them has grown, enthusiasm buzzes through the air. The way Hope is smirking worries Josie just a little, but she doesn’t let it show.

“I would love to show you up. I know exactly what I want if I win.” Josie smiles wide, an idea already forming in her mind.

“Awfully bold of you, Josette, to already assume you’re going to win.” Hope continues to give her a smoldering stare, smirking as she does so.

“Quit stalling Hope and tell me what you want, unless you want to give up now.” Josie drops her voice lower in a cooing mocking tone, pouting her lips as she does so. Hope’s smirk turns into a playful glare as her eyes get a mischievous gleam in them.

“If I win...” Hope trails off, probably because she wants to raise the tension in the air and is just as dramatic as Lizzie. Well, maybe not that dramatic.

Her lips curl up into a sexy smirk that Josie wants to kiss off her perfectly symmetrical face.

She’s jerked out of her thoughts as Hope finishes her sentence. “I want you to give me a lap dance.”

From the smug smile on her face, you’d think she already won.

Josie narrows her eyes and takes a step forward until her body is pressed against Hope’s. She leans up so her mouth is right next to Hope’s ear. “Fine. If I win, you take me to your cabin for the weekend.”

They stare at each other, neither breaking contact, the music fades behind them, so their only focus is each other.

“I can’t wait until I get to see where the great and mysterious Hope lives.” Josie says with no small amount of confidence.

Hope matches her energy leaning up until she’s right up in Josie’s space. “I can’t wait until you show me that beautiful body of yours.”

She emphasized her words with a growl that only Josie can hear, sending waves of arousal through her body.

One of Josie’s hands comes up until it slips under Hope’s shirt, gently raking her nails across her abdomen while siphoning just a little magic.

Hope closes her eyes at the feeling, seemingly barely restraining a moan. Her eyes flash golden once before going back to the blue that Josie is all too familiar with.

“I guess we’ll see who comes out on top, won’t we?” Josie moves away and raises a single eyebrow, a smirk on her lips.

Both girls move back and to opposite sides of the table. Josie tries to look intimidating, but knows her face looks more like a bunny than anything to be afraid of. Lizzie’s words, not her’s.

Josie does win the coin toss to go first, so she lines up her ping pong balls and goes to shoot it. Her first makes a perfect arc after it bounces and lands cleanly into one of Hope’s cups with a splash.

Hope grabs the cup and drains it in one go, maintaining eye contact with Josie as she does. The crowd and music around them blur together in a seamless sea of noise. The only thing that matters right now is Hope and winning the damned game.

It’s Hope’s turn now, and she lands her ping pong into one of Josie’s cups as well, forcing her to pick up the brown liquid and drink it all. She cringes as the taste touches her tongue, but downs it all like the champ she is.

Josie licks her lips and uses her thumb to catch the few drops that’d dripped down her chin, choosing to put the tip of it in her mouth while staring at Hope. If she uses a dirty tactic to try and throw Hope off her game, that’s her business.

It seems that the redhead’s eyes grow darker as she watches her, entirely focused on Josie’s lips and the thumb in her mouth. With a smirk on her face, Josie picks up the next ping pong ball.

As the game progresses, it seems both girls are evenly matched and stay point to point throughout. Where Hope misses one, so does Josie. More often than not, if one makes it, the other will too. Now it’s down to the last two cups, and Josie can already feel the drink pulling her under.

She’s on the verge of tipsy where she knows she’ll have to stop soon unless she wants to be pushed over the edge and wake up with a monster hangover tomorrow. But there is no way in hell, will she give Hope the satisfaction of winning the game.

Though losing the game wouldn’t be the end of the world either, giving Hope a private show… maybe a striptease. She would definitely not be opposed to that.

Shaking her head to rid her mind of the dirty images that had begun to flow through it, she readies herself for the next throw. She makes it surprisingly, but that may have had something to do with the little spell she had used at the beginning of the game. One Lizzie had taught her many years ago during high school.

Hope drank the cup down and seems far too sober for someone who’d drank just as much as Josie. The other girl lines her shot up and sinks it perfectly into Josie’s cup. A scowl touches her face as she grimaces again at having to drink the contents. She wonders where Hope learned to even play this game since she was homeschooled.

The thought makes her frown in confusion. Hope was seriously good at this, far too good for someone’s first time. Josie shakes her head again and lines up her hopeful last shot, if she makes this, Hope gets one more throw to tie the game since Josie went first. 

She focuses her eyes on the last cup and gets ready, she glances up at Hope before she does and is ready to give her another flirty look but stops, hearing Hope mutter something. She feels the all too familiar feeling of magic tingling across her body. Her skin warms up at the feeling as it heats her to the core.

As siphoners, Lizzie and she can tell when a spell is used on them, whether it’s a helpful spell or a hex. They couldn’t always tell where it came from or drain it with their siphoning, but they can feel it when it’s there. She looks up to the crowd around her for what feels like the first time since the game started and catches her sisters gaze. The blonde gives a smile and a thumbs up.

Josie sighs in relief before turning her attention back to Hope, Lizzie must have put some sort of charm onto her. She has the brief thought of how it looked like Hope put something on her, but that wasn’t possible.

She lines the shot and throws it, arcing it perfectly…except for the fact it bounces off the rim and flies off the cup, clattering as it hits the floor.

Shocked, Josie lifts her gaze towards Hope, looking much more smug than the situation calls for.

“I guess I may see that body of yours sooner than I thought, Josette.” At the teasing remark, Hope throws the ball and sinks it into Josie’s last cup, signaling the end of the game. Josie smiles, trying to be a good sport as the loud cheers rise from the onlookers. She grabs the final cup and downs it in one go, crushing it in her hands as she does.

Hope is standing next to her faster than her brain can process, and holding her steady. Josie pushes herself against Hope’s body, feeling far too light and free for having just lost. All thoughts of charms and magic gone from her brain as the warmth of Hope and cheap beer fills her system.

She puts her lips against Hope’s ear, enjoying the growl she hears from Hope as she wraps a possessive arm around Josie’s body.

“Take me somewhere private, so I can give you your prize.”

They make their way through the crowd quickly, quicker than Josie would have thought possible. Her drink addled brain can’t keep up with the movement. She lets Hope half carry her to wherever they’re going, enjoying the ride immensely as she does. 

Hope searches for an empty room and finds one on the third try, the other two rooms filled with others doing unsavory things to each other. Not that Hope and Josie were going to do something similar as well.

When they get into the room, there’s clothes strewn on the floor and is beyond messy, obviously one of the frat boys’ rooms.

The room is less than desirable, but it was empty, and there was a wooden chair. Josie grabs the chair, dropping the random clothes thrown on it to the floor, and moves it to the center of the room. Her only thought currently running through her mind is to get her hands all over Hope.

Hope stands by and watches her with a darkened gaze that Josie can’t help but enjoy, wanting the redhead to look at her and never stop. She moves closer to Hope and presses her body against hers, before pushing her back a step and placing her on the chair. Hope lets Josie maneuver her body to sitting down and reaches a hand up to put them on Hope’s hips.

Josie leans down so her lips are almost touching Hope’s, grazing just enough to send electrical shocks down her entire body. She moves her nose so it slides across the other girl’s cheek before resting her mouth directly on Hope’s ear.

“No touching.” Her voice is raspy and said in a hushed whisper before she moves back and makes eye contact with Hope. She winks before moving back a few feet and presses play on her phone.

The first few beats ring out into the room, and Josie finds herself getting into the groove of the beat.

She hadn’t done this dance in years. Well, a year. She had tried to impress a guy with the dance who was far too drunk to appreciate it and had fallen asleep halfway through.

Her ego took a major blow from that one.

But Hope was so much better of an option to give a dance to than some drunk frat boy. The way she kept her gaze on Josie as she started to move set fire to her core.

Josie tries to move forward in a sexy manner but stumbles halfway to Hope, almost falling onto the redhead’s lap. Hope catches her easily, standing and wrapping an arm around Josie’s waist to steady her. 

“Sorry, let me try again.” Josie goes to stand up, but Hope keeps her arm around Josie and pulls her so she’s straddling Hope’s hips. 

“You're drunk.” Is all Hope says in lieu a response. She would reply but is easily distracted with the way Hope’s lips look in the dim dorm room light. 

“Why don’t we wait until you're sober for that dance, okay?” Josie nods, a little disappointed in not being able to show off her moves to Hope. She understands still and gets lost staring into Hope's eyes. 

Josie leans forward ever so slightly, looking back down to Hope's lips and back up to shining blue eyes. Hope stares with an intensity Josie hasn't seen before. 

As Hope is leaning forward, Josie truly believes it's their time to kiss, that after all the teasing and pining she will finally know how Hope tastes.

The door flies open loudly, jarring both girls as they cling to each other in surprise. Josie is ready to say a hex for anyone who dared interrupt them but is stopped when she sees Lizzie standing at the door, a serious expression on her face. One that quickly turns to a grimace.

“Josette, why are you dry humping the dog?” Josie flushes at her sister’s words and slowly stands up off of Hope’s lap.

“Why are you here Lizzie? We’re in the middle of something.” She hisses her sister’s name like a curse, anger coursing through her body right now.

The blonde rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “Obviously.  _ Something  _ is an understatement.” Lizzie goes to say more but stops herself when she listens to the music still playing. “Is that your sex playlist?!” Josie, who has not stopped blushing since her sister walks in, is still feeling incredibly horny and contemplating sending a fireball at her sister.

“No! I don’t have a sex playlist.” she lies through her teeth. “Why are you here, Lizzie?!” she asks again, rapidly losing her patience. Hope watches the back-and-forth exchange.

“We need to leave now. There are people looking for Hope. They look like some renta-cop wannabes who’re acting like they own the place. And they are storming the party looking for wolfie here.”

Hope’s entire body freezes at the words. “Are you sure they were looking for me?”

Hope’s tone has taken on a dangerous edge, filled with undeniable anger.

“Yeah. They’re downstairs asking around right now. They also have this compass thing that was pointing at the stairs. I am keeping them busy for the moment, but it won’t last long. We need to go.”

Hope nods, her face going all tight and worried and she turns around toward the window. 

“Hope, we’re on the second floor. We can’t get down from here.” Josie says as she turns towards Hope. Before she can say anything else, there’s a pounding on the door.

“Open up Mikaelson! We know you’re in there!” Josie and Lizzie share a look at hearing the name.

Hope doesn’t stop what she’s doing and gets the window open all the way. “Do you trust me?”

Hope holds her hands out for both Josie and Lizzie to take. Josie grabs on instantly while the blonde hesitates.

“Lizzie, come on!” The other siphoner listens as the pounding becomes more  apparent as the wooden door begins to crack.

Hope jumps out the window and begins to chant Latin words that Josie isn’t familiar with. All three girls float to the ground safely, clutched tightly to Hope’s body.

The second they hit the ground, Hope is saying another spell, making her skin glow red for a moment and then she goes back to normal.

“We need to leave now, come on.” Hope barely waits for them to come with, choosing instead to grab their hands and drag them to where the streets are.

Josie’s in a daze, freaking out but trying not to show it. Lizzie has no reservations about letting the redhead know how freaked out she is.

“I thought you were a wolf!? Now you’re a witch too!?”

“Keep your voice down.” Hope whisper yells, her head swiveling around as they search for the car Lizzie had driven them herein. “Give me your keys.” Hope continues to walk fast, looking for the car and bringing them over to it once she finds it.

“Not until you explain what the fuck is going on!”

Josie watches as Hope’s eyes turn golden once, she quickly steps forward and puts her hand on Hope’s forearm. The redhead calms down as she takes a deep breath. “I’ll explain in the car. Just give me your keys.”

Lizzie finally listens and does as she’s told. They all pile in with Hope driving, who barely waits for them to shut the doors before peeling out. Josie leans over and places her hand on Hope’s arm again, trying to calm the tense girl down.

“Care to explain what the hell that was?” Lizzie leans forward, having been booted to the back by Josie sitting next to Hope.

“There are people trying to kill me.” Hope says it dryly and without any voice inflections, keeping her eyes steadily on the road.

Thousands of questions go off inside Josie at once, but she asks none of them, choosing to scoot over and presses her body close to Hope instead. The redhead didn’t need to be interrogated right now. Hope visibly relaxes and continues driving with the warmth of Josie next to her.

They make it back to the twins’ apartment in half the time it took to drive there with Hope’s crazy driving. Josie has the distinct thought that Hope would give Lizzie a run for her money on ‘worst driver.’

Once they’re inside their apartment, Lizzie seems adamant about talking to Hope and finding out more, but Josie shoots her a look. They have a silent stare-off before Lizzie backs off and goes to her room, giving both girls space.

“I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.” Hope stares at the floor and looks nothing short of devastated. Josie takes Hope’s face into her hands and cradles the other girl, pulling her up to stare at Josie.

“Shh, you didn’t drag me into anything. Is there anything I can do to help?” Tears begin to rise in Hope’s eyes making them glisten in the little light that’s in Josie’s room.

“Kiss me.” Is all Hope can barely say, which Josie instantly listens to. Cradling Hope’s face in her hands.

Their kiss is far different than Josie had imagined it would be, this is still passionate and full of love, but lacks the heated lust from before. Hope is the first to pull away, resting her head against Josie’s forehead as they breath the same air.

“I have to go…” Hope swallows hard and leans away from Josie’s grasp reluctantly. Josie nods and still has a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue. The most pressing comes out.

“When will I see you again?”

Hope seems so sad before she forces an answer, one Josie can tell is a lie.

“Soon, Josette. I’m going to miss you.” The goodbye feels deeper than Josie would like, as if they were saying goodbye for good.

Josie swallows hard. The words she wants to plead and beg almost come out.

_ I want you to stay… I want you to stay… I want you to stay… _

They don’t come out. Hope leans down and kisses Josie once more, before pulling back and walking towards the door.

They maintain eye contact as they watch the other carefully. “Goodbye, princess.”

“Goodbye, my prince.”

Hope leaves out the door, and Josie can do nothing but watch as she walks away, feeling like she lost something she can never get back.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo what'd ya think? oof, that ending tho

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! catch me on twitter @Bluejay720


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